In The Company of my Future
by Fantasy's Magic
Summary: After a weird phone call about his baby, Kyo wakes up one morning only to find out that he's married to Tohru and that they have two children.
1. Chapter 1

**In The Company of my Future**

Chapter One

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: Are these really necessary? Anyway, I don't own Fruits Basket.

- - -

His day had been a disaster.

First, two of his teacher's had decided to shove a pop quiz in his face, which would make anyone unhappy. Though nobody did well on the test, so the teacher's had issued another test to be taken three days from then, which meant anything anyone had been planning on those days would have to instead be spent studying.

Second, he had been pushed by one of his classmates, causing him to nearly collide with a girl. That in itself was bad, but after that he had pushed the girl roughly away, and in return she burst into tears. If it was one thing Kyo hated, it was making (or watching) a girl cry. He apologized to the girl, but in return he got laughter and never ending comments from the men of the class.

Then thirdly, he had the joy of being eaten out by Yuki, and told him how irresponsible he was for allowing himself to nearly transform in front of the entire class. Along the lecture he also added how stupid Kyo was, and how he needed to control his temper for once. Kyo wanted to yell at him, call him names and then fight with him. But he had changed. He wasn't sixteen anymore, he was eighteen. He had grown up after he met Tohru, and he had learned not to pick fights in which he would never win. He was, after all, the cat, and Yuki was the rat. The rat would always win. At everything.

Many other things had gone wrong in his day as well, but Kyo had managed to narrow it down to those three things. Those were the ones that caused the rest of his day to be rotten.

The orange haired boy sighed as he walked home alone on the street. Sometimes he did get lonely walking home alone. He would even have let Momiji or Haru walk with him, though he would never admit it.

Kyo stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked up, seeing that he was nearly at Shigure's.

_Never thought I would end up calling this place 'home'. _Thought Kyo as he walked off the curb and onto Shigure's driveway. _Then again I never thought a lot of things would happen. _

When Kyo got inside he took off his shoes and walked upstairs. He went into his room and dropped his bag on the floor, quickly noticing that all his clothes that he been washed were now neatly folded and laying on his bed. Kyo smiled to himself.

_Tohru's such a...girl. She does everything round here, though I wish she didn't. She works herself way too hard. _

A thought than came to Kyo. How had Tohru done the laundry when he was the first one home? Though as quickly as the question came the answer followed it.

_Oh yeah, I took the long way home. She must have come here before me to get something, and must have finished doing the laundry. _

Kyo shook his head, wondering how the young woman could do so many things in such as short period of time.

_Tohru's gonna make a man a great wife someday. He's gonna be spoiled, that's for sure. _

Just then the phone rang. Kyo waited a few seconds, expecting Shigure to pick it up. He then remembered that Shigure wasn't home, he had gone to the main house. The young man went down the stairs and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kyo-kun! It's Tohru."

Kyo smiled softly.

"Oh, Hey Tohru."

"Hey Kyo-kun, I was wondering if you could pick up some baby powder on your way home tonight..."

Kyo frowned. Baby powder? Was this a joke?

"Baby powder?"

"Yes silly! Didn't I mention that we were out this morning before you left for work?"

Kyo could hear Tohru giggle.

"Oh well, I must have forgotten. Silly me!"

Kyo stayed silent, not sure what to say. He wasn't even sure if he was really speaking to Tohru, or someone that sounded like her.

"Kyo-kun?" Said Tohru after the man didn't say anything. "Kyo-kun are you there?"

Kyo blinked, then slowly answered.

"Uh, Yeah, I'm... still here."

It was then that the door opened, and Yuki walked in. Kyo quickly glanced at the boy, a frown of confusion still on his face. Yuki raised his eyebrows, but said nothing and began taking off his shoes.

"Well Kyo-kun, if you could do that for me, that would be great!"

Kyo shook his head. What the heck was going on? This girl sounded JUST like Tohru, but there was no way on earth that it could be.

"I'll see you when you get back from work. I love you!"

The last sentence was what finally managed to cause Kyo to snap.

"Is this a joke?" He asked.

There was no reply right away, but when it did come, the person talking sounded shocked.

"A joke...about getting baby powder?"

"NO! Who is this? What do you want?"

"It's Tohru, Kyo, is something wrong?"

Kyo grabbed his hair with his free hand, clenching it tightly. There was just no way this person on the other line could be Tohru. There was just no way! But it sounded just like Tohru! JUST like her! If this was another person, they were pretty darn good at mimicking voices!

Yuki stared at Kyo. Who was he talking to that could cause such an outburst of distress? Usually if Kyo was talking to Shigure or Momiji and they were bothering him he'd simply yell at them, but now his eyes were wide and he was nearly pulling out his hair. What was getting him so riled up?

"Kyo-kun? Kyo-kun is everything alright?" The person who claimed to be Tohru now had worry in her voice, and it was very genuine.

Kyo looked around, then spotted Yuki staring at him. Yuki caught this and asked,

"What's going on?"

Kyo for once didn't say anything mean, but instead took the phone and hit the 'speaker' button. Yuki could now hear everything the person who Kyo was talking to was saying.

"Talk to her!" Said Kyo, frowning slightly. Maybe whoever this was would stop the joke when they heard Yuki come into the conversation.

Yuki glared at Kyo, but stopped when he heard the person talk to him.

"Hello? Kyo-kun are you still there? Are you alright? Kyo-kun!"

Yuki frowned, and looked at Kyo. The cat was worried over _this? _Over talking to _Tohru? _

"Hello Tohru-san." Said Yuki calmly, still frowning at his orange haired cousin.

"Yuki? Is that you?"

Yuki noticed that Tohru hadn't added the 'kun', but he ignored it.

"Yeah, it's me. Is something wrong?"

"Well I was just talking to Kyo-kun, but he's acting very odd!"

Yuki rolled his eyes. That was an understatement.

Tohru continued,

"I just asked him to pick up some baby powder! And- hold on. Why are you at Kyo-kun's office?"

THIS got Yuki to stop all that he was doing. The rat glanced at the cat, his eyebrows raised.

"Um, baby powder, Tohru-san?"

"Yes! Is there really anything wrong with that?"

"Well, no, Tohru-san but... who would the baby powder be for, I'm wondering. And I'm sure Kyo is too."

Silence.

"Why, for Miki of course!"

The two teenaged boys stood there, completely stunned.

"M...Miki?" Asked Kyo tentatively. "Who's Miki?"

"Oh good Kyo-kun, your still here! Wait... did you just ask- Kyo-kun did you hit your head?! Oh no you must have hit your head! I'll call the doctor right away! Please, stay where you are, I'll be over right away!"

Yuki was taken aback. Was this really Tohru? Or a joke? Who on earth was Miki, and why did Tohru ask Kyo to pick up baby powder her?

"Tohru-san, is everything alright? Why are you asking for baby powder, and who is Miki?"

"Yuki! Did you hit your head too? Miki is our daughter!"

Yuki instantly blushed.

"Our d-daughter?"

Tohru laughed faintly.

"No, no, me and _Kyo._"

Yuki looked at Kyo, expecting him to be as white as a sheet. But instead he got the exact opposite. There was no colour whatsoever drained from Kyo, like there was before, and Kyo was now calmly staring at the speaker phone that was laying on the desk.

"Don't worry Tohru-chan, I'll pick it up on my way back."

A sigh of relief was heard.

"Oh good. Now Kyo-kun, would you mind telling me why you and Yuki were acting so strange? Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

Kyo chuckled.

"Naw, we didn't hit our heads. We were just teasing you."

Tohru laughed.

"Oh, okay. You two were very good at acting! I really thought you had forgotten about Miki!"

Yuki stared at Kyo, noticing that the man's eyes were glazed over. Yuki was very confused, a minute ago Kyo had been as much in the dark as he had in this conversation, but now he seemed as though everything was normal. He had even chuckled, something he had never in his life hear him do. The young man was also smiling, another thing Kyo would normally not want Yuki to catch him doing.

"Of course I couldn't forget. How could I forget my baby?"

Suddenly gurgling was heard, followed by Tohru's laugh.

"I think Miki knows we're talking about her honey."

"Oh, hey Miki! How are you?" Asked Kyo, genuinely happy to be talking to his daughter.

More gurgling, then a baby's laugh.

"Well I better let you go." Said Tohru finally.

"Yeah, I'll see you when I get home." Kyo quickly added, "And I wont forget the baby powder."

Tohru laughed.

"No, don't forget the baby powder. Take lot's of pictures for me, okay? I really hope you win the prize this year!"

A smile brushed Kyo's lips.

"It wouldn't mean anything without you Tohru."

Then suddenly the line started to crackle, and a white noise was heard instead of a voice. Yuki watched Kyo's eyes as their haziness slowly disappeared, as well as his smile.

"What... what was... what happened?"

Kyo looked at Yuki, confusion written all over his face.

"Don't ask me, idiot." Said Yuki. "You're the one who was talking to Tohru about your child."

Kyo's eyes widened, but as soon as they did they closed. The young man clutched his head as a sudden throbbing pain slammed into his head. But as soon as it had come, it had gone, leaving behind the faint picture of a twenty four year old woman with soft, brown hair.

Kyo took a deep breath, then stood shakily to his feet. Yuki was about to ask what was going on when the door suddenly opened and Tohru walked in. She smiled when she saw the two men.

"Oh hello Kyo-kun! Hello Yuki-kun! I'm sorry, I just came by for my book... I forgot it when I was here. Um..."

Tohru looked nervously at Kyo and Yuki, not sure as to why she was getting such odd looks from them.

"Um... is everything alright?"

Nobody said anything at first, then suddenly Kyo straightened and started walking towards the stairs.

"Nothing's wrong Tohru, we were just... surprised you had come back so early. That's all."

Tohru mouthed a small 'Oh.' as Kyo walked upstairs. She listened to his footsteps as they walked across the floor, then into his room. The sound of the door shutting echoed throughout the house.

Tohru looked at Yuki, and Yuki looked at her. Yuki smiled softly, trying hard to regain his composure as quickly as he could.

"Well, uh, Tohru-san. I'll see you when you come home later. Have fun."

With that, the silver haired boy walked upstairs and into his room.

Tohru remained by herself, in the same spot she had been when she first walked in.

_Well that was... strange. I wonder if I somehow made them upset? Oh no, I hope I didn't upset them in anyway! Oh no, oh no! _

Though Tohru didn't know it, she was indeed the cause for Kyo and Yuki's behaviour. Though it was in a way that she could never imagine.

- - -

Kyo sat on the floor, his back up against the wall. His legs were drawn up, and his head was laying across his knees. He clutched his head, though it wasn't from pain. Instead he was trying desperately to figure out what was going on. What had come over him before? How had he suddenly known exactly what to say, and how did he know exactly what they were talking about?

Kyo ran a hand through his hair, his eyes narrowed in deep concentration. Finally he managed to whisper one thing.

"What's going on here?"

- - -

Well I hope this is okay! I wrote it in one sitting, something I haven't done in ages. Hopefully for this story my mind can stay on the plot and not wander. That only creates confusion among the stories and for the readers.

Tell me if the rating should be changed! Ideas are also welcomed! Thanks for reading!

- Sakoko-chan


	2. Chapter 2

**In The Company of my Future**

Chapter Two

By: Sakoko-chan

**Please help**! I'm not getting any fan fiction alerts at all! I never received a single one of your guy's reviews, nor am I getting any story or author updates, even though those stories have been updated. I don't think the problem is with my email, as I'm getting email's from elsewhere, like normal. I've already made any possible adjustments to my email, in case it _was _the problem, though so far nothing's helped.

If someone can help me, or tell me how to reach an admin, or someone who can help, I'd be **extremely** thankful!

And if you DO know how to help, please send the message right to** my email**, and **not** through Private Messaging, as I doubt it would work. Thank you so much!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruit's Basket.

Here's chapter 2.

- - -

The next day started off where the last day had ended. Kyo woke up to the sound of his alarm clock, telling him that school would start in an hour and a half. Though this hardly seemed like a day for school.

The orange haired boy sat up slowly, reaching over to turn the alarm off. When he did the room quickly became engulfed with silence, the deep intakes of breath the only sounds to be heard.

Kyo stayed still for a while, thoughts going through the his head, and they were all centred on one thing.

The phone call.

He was so _confused_. What had happened yesterday? Was that phone call real, or was it all just a dream?

Kyo shook his head and stood up, grabbing extra clothes for after his shower. He opened the door and was about to take a step out of his room when suddenly a little girl who looked too young to be walking, ran past him.

"AH!"

Kyo jumped back, completely startled.

_Who the heck was that? _He nearly yelled in his mind.

Kyo grabbed the side of the wall and swung himself outside, staring with wide eyes at the hallway where the little girl had run down.

Only she wasn't there.

"Hey, idiot, what's your problem?"

Kyo turned to his right to see Yuki, still in his pajamas, staring groggily at him. Kyo didn't say anything for a moment, but finally managed to give a glare to Yuki before he turned and walked to the bathroom.

Yuki stared after him, not sure what to make of the boy's strange behaviour. At first he thought maybe it had something to do with the prank call the other day, like, maybe it had put him on edge or something, but he quickly dismissed it.

_That call was obviously a joke, and Kyo obviously knew it was since he played along with it. But still...why would he act as though he didn't realize what he had done afterwards? Ah who knows. It _is _the cat after all. _

But putting the reason for Kyo's behaviour on his being the cat didn't put the young man's mind at ease. Instead it only made him more unsettled about the whole thing.

- - -

Tohru was doing what she always did. Making food.

It was as though every thing she did involved making food for the Sohma men. Or cleaning for them, or doing their laundry, or washing the dishes, or any other house hold task that a man would rather leave a woman to do. Though she most certainly didn't mind, as the small chores often aloud her mind to keep focussed, and not wander onto other things.

Such as Kyo and Yuki's behaviour the other day.

It had shocked her slightly at first to simply see the two boy's within ten feet of each other, and not fighting, or rather, as it was now more common for them to do, argue. She was willing to dismiss it and think that they had finally learned to tolerate each other, but then she saw their faces.

When she had walked in at first, both boy's had looked up at her, and they both looked shocked, as though they were surprised that she could be there. Well, she supposed it _would _be normal for them to be shocked, considering she had told them she would be at Hana's for the evening, but still. This sort of shocked didn't look right. It wasn't as though they had thought she _couldn't _be there, it was as though they thought she _shouldn't _be there. Like it was impossible for her to be.

Tohru shook her head.

It wasn't _impossible, _that was for sure. Hana's house wasn't too far a way, just a ten minute walk or so.

_HISSSSS_

Tohru gave a small 'eep' and quickly ran over to the kettle, unplugging it from the socket.

_That really surprised me! I was so deep in my thought's I hadn't expected it at all..._

"G'morning Tohru."

"EEP!"

Tohru jumped and nearly knocked the kettle off the counter. She turned around to see Kyo staring at her curiously.

"OH! Good morning Kyo-kun! You... surprised me."

"I could see that."

"Yes, well..."

Kyo took this as to be the end of their conversation, and he made his way over to the fridge.

_Is it my imagination _Thought Tohru _Or is Kyo-kun acting rather odd? He doesn't usually say good morning to me, and he's walking rather...cautiously. Like a cat that's been recently spooked. _

Tohru blinked, then giggled. She hadn't meant to make _that _kind of comparison.

Kyo shut the fridge after he had taken a drink and glanced sideways at Tohru, not sure why she was laughing. Tohru caught this and quickly apologized.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kyo-kun! Really, I am. I had just thought of something funny, that's all."

Kyo didn't say anything and instead walked over to the TV, turning it on only to watch the morning news. He didn't want to be caught off guard and have rain suddenly start pouring on him. He'd had that happen to him one too many times already.

At least, that's what he normally watched it for.

_She's acting so... normal. Like yesterday didn't happen. I mean, it_**was** _her on that phone, right? There's no way someone could copy her voice and her personality that greatly. Though I must admit, her personality did seem a little...different. Though that was probably because she was acting. Yeah, that's it. She was acting. She had to be. I mean, well, _baby powderOur _kid's? That's just insane! That's just...insane... it was a joke... it has to be._

Kyo ran a hand through his hair in frustration, trying hard to turn his mind to the television. He had very little success.

_And what about that child I saw before? She seemed so real. Though when I looked down the hallway, she was gone. Like she had never been there to begin with. And Yuki obviously didn't see or hear anything, considering he was acting completely normal._

Kyo sighed and ran a hand through his hair again. He than looked up and glared at the Tv.

_This whole thing is stupid. It's got me wound up so much I think I'm gonna snap. I normally don't get truly angered at Tohru, but if it _was _her that made that phone call... _

- - -

Yuki walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to see that Tohru and Kyo were already seated and were eating breakfast. Tohru looked up at him and greeted him cheerfully. Kyo simply ignored him and continued eating. Yuki sat down across from Tohru and placed a pancake on his plate. After he had finished putting butter and maple syrup on, he began to eat.

The room was unusually quiet. All three teenagers were silent, not uttering a word as they ate. Now normally there would be at least some sort of conversation, usually between Tohru and Yuki, or Tohru and Kyo, but this morning neither of them seemed willing to start one. And it was all for the same reason.

Finally everyone had finished eating. Tohru took their plates and placed them in the sink. She'd wash them later. Then suddenly a thought struck her, and she remembered something important she had left upstairs. She told the two boy's this, and quickly excused herself, heading for her room, leaving the two boy's by themselves.

If someone else had been in the room and seen Kyo and Yuki, their first thought would most likely be "awkward." The two sat in complete silence, both thinking of the same thing, but neither willing to speak about it.

Though a few minutes passed, and Yuki finally spoke up. You see he as well, had grown over the past two years. He had matured greatly, and he was far better at handling situations he would rather not handle.

"So tell me, Kyo, was that phone call the other day really a joke?"

Kyo's head shot up, and he glared at Yuki.

"How should I know? I told you to talk to her for a reason. I was hoping that whomever it was, assuming it _wasn't _Tohru, would end up saying that the phone call _was _a joke."

Yuki found this hard to believe.

"Well than why did you play along? Why did you go along with the joke and pretend you and Tohru really _did _have a child?"

- - -

Tohru breathed a sigh of relief after finally finding her math book. She quickly placed it in her bag and went back downstairs.

_I hope Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun aren't fighting_ She thought as she reached out her hand to open the kitchen door.

"...along with the joke and pretend you and Tohru really _did _have a child?"

Tohru stopped in her tracks. Were they talking about... her?

"I didn't realize I was doing it! Something came over me... it was as though I knew everything that was going on... I didn't intend to say those things!"

Tohru was confused. What were the two boys talking about? Did it have something to do with her?

Yuki's voice drifted through the door.

"Well than what was that? If your telling the truth, and you really _weren't _going along with it, than the only explanation would be that Tohru did it."

Tohru's eyes widened. What did she do? A hundred thought's went through her head, all coming up with way's that she could have done something wrong.

"How could she do that when right after the line went dead, she walked in?" Asked Kyo.

"She probably had a cell phone with her."

"And a baby too? There was a baby there, remember. Well at least _I _heard it."

There was silence. Obviously Yuki didn't have an explanation for this one. After a few moment's Yuki spoke up.

"Well it's obviously a joke. There's no way what she was talking about was real. Unless, of course, she and you have a baby I don't know about."

Suddenly the door slammed open, a deeply blushing Tohru standing behind it. Her eyes were wide from the sudden shock, though she tried hard to regain her composure.

Yuki and Kyo were surprised too, their faces showing it.

"T-Tohru-san..." Stammered Yuki. How much had she heard?

"AH! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to intrude like that! It was an accident, really! I, um... oh no..."

Kyo, the remains of a blush quickly leaving his face, stood up and grabbed his bag, heading for the door. He didn't want to stay around to help give an explanation for what they had been talking about.

"How much did you hear?" Asked Yuki nervously.

Tohru shook her head.

"Um, only a little bit. Not much. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to eavesdrop! I'm sorry!!"

Tohru bowed a few times, a deep blush on her face from embarrassment.

Yuki grabbed his bag.

"It's fine, Tohru-san. We're not mad. We were just surprised when you came in so suddenly, that's all. Anyway, we better get going or we'll be late for school."

Tohru stood up straight and nodded.

"Kay."

- - -

The school bell rang, signalling the end of the day. Yuki quickly made his way to a student council meeting he had to attend, while Tohru was hanging with her friends.

Kyo found himself once again walking home alone.

It wasn't as bad as the other day, because now he had something to think about.

_I must be going crazy. Not only did I start acting weird with that phone call, but I also saw a baby running past my room this morning. Well, I _thought _I saw one. I probably imagined it, because she was real small, too small to be walking, much less running. _

Kyo smiled softly.

_She was a real cutie though, her brown hair tied up in two bun's like that. Tohru really did a great job on her hair..._

Kyo jumped, shocking a couple of people in the street. He ignored them.

_What was that? _He asked himself, eyes wide. _Why did I just think that? I really AM going crazy! Why did I... why did I-_

Kyo suddenly found himself standing outside a shop. He looked into the store, then seeing that they had a variety of items, he walked in.

The teenager made his way over to a shelf, and quickly saw what he wanted. He picked up the small bottle and went over to the counter, placing it in front of the store clerk.

The clerk was a young woman with long hair tied up in a ponytail. She smiled brightly when she saw Kyo.

"Good afternoon! Is this all for today? Did you get everything you were looking for?"

Kyo smiled.

"Yeah I did."

The girl scanned the item, pressed a few buttons, then placed it in a bag, handing it to Kyo along with the receipt.

"Shopping for your mom?" She asked.

Kyo shook his head.

"No, this is for me actually. Well, not me _personally, _but you know what I mean."

The girl seemed slightly shocked at first, but quickly regained her poise and smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry then. Have a good day!"

Kyo nodded back with a smile and walked out of the store.

When he was gone the store clerk turned her attention back to the small TV she had.

_Odd _She thought. _He look's too young to be a father._

_- - -_

Whistles

So there's chapter two. I'm sorry if it seemed... stupid. I hope you all still like it.

I think a lot of the characters are out of character. I apologize for that! I think it's because I feel as though I haven't really captured the essence of Fruit's Basket, like many other authors have. Ah, well, maybe it's just because I'm the one writing the story.

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I was able to read them when I went on the site. Lol, I laughed when I read that nearly all of you had said you were confused. Sorry! It's meant to be that way. All thing's will be explained in the end, so no worries!

**Funky Dude: **When I read your review, for some reason I got worried and now I'm worried that the rest of the story wont live to your guy's expectations. I'm not mad or nothing, I'm just saying that now I'm on my toes!

**Fang-grl: **I'm glad you say it's different! I really wanted to write something that isn't like all the other stories here. Thanks for your review!

I really wish I could write to you all, but I don't have the time. Thanks to EVERYONE though, you guys are the only reason I'm updating! hands out cookies

Oh, and if any of you have read my other story, I apologize PROFUSELY! I feel terrible. I'm trying to make the plot seem more...normal I suppose. I plan to update it though, really I do!

I may not be able to update for a bit, as I'm getting an entire new computer tomorrow and I'll be stuck for awhile with that (having to put everything on it and such).

Thank you all again!

-Sakoko-chan


	3. Chapter 3

**In The Company of my Future**

Chapter Three

By: Sakoko-chan

Well once again I thank you all for your reviews! I only update because of you guys!

My review alerts are now being all pushed into my account, so there's nothing wrong there. Sorry if I overreacted, I tend to do that sometimes (okay, I tend to do that a lot).

I'm sorry that Kyo and the other's are OC. I'm trying to base their personalities on how they're acting in the most recent manga I've read, which are the latest volumes available. Plus I just haven't been getting their personalities right lately...

I'm sorry I didn't update for a while. We got a new computer and I had to deal with that. It was very frustrating actually, hooking the computer up ended up having a load of set backs, and now I'm working on putting old information on the new computer. Thanks for understanding!

Well here goes chapter three! Thanks for still reading (and most importantly) liking this story!

- - -

A chilly wind sent shiver's up Kyo's spine as it blew through the tree's and towards Shigure's house. The boy's footsteps were drowned out as the wind began to pick up and make a high pitched whistling sound.

"What the heck's going on here?" Kyo asked himself out loud as he entered Shigure's home. "I thought it would just be that weird conversation on the telephone, that's all. What... why did I..."

Kyo shook his head, a frown on his face. He didn't _know _why he had picked up baby powder, like the girl who claimed to be Tohru asked him to do. He didn't _know _why he had suddenly known exactly what to say when he spoke to her, and he didn't _know _why he had seen a child run passed his room.

Kyo sighed and took off his shoes.

_Maybe I'm going insane... _

"Ah! Kyo-kun! Your home!" Shigure came bouncing over to his younger cousin, a wide grin on his face.

Kyo turned his head and started walking up the stairs in an attempt to ignore the dog.

Though sadly for Kyo, this attempt did not deter Shigure in the least.

"Did Kyon stop at the store?" He asked, grabbing the plastic bag out of Kyo's hand's before Kyo could react.

"HEY! Give that back!"

"What did he buy I wonder?"

Shigure opened the bag despite the loud protests from Kyo. He reached inside and pulled out...

"Baby powder?"

Shigure stood there, momentarily at a loss for words, something that didn't happen too often. He had been hoping to find something naughty in the bag, but instead he found...

"Baby powder?" Shigure repeated, looking up at Kyo.

Kyo snatched the bottle from Shigure's hands and ran up the stairs, a deep blush on his face.

Shigure remained at the foot of the stairs, still slightly confused. He was trying hard to come up with a reason for Kyo's odd purchase.

It was at this moment that Yuki walked into the room, heading for the stairs. He passed Shigure, eyeing him curiously. Shigure noticed this and smiled.

"Hello Yuki-kun. Can I ask you a question?"

Now Yuki was officially suspicious.

After a few seconds he finally asked,

"What?"

"Can you tell me why Kyo-kun would buy baby powder?"

Yuki rolled his eyes, thinking that this was just another one of Shigure's stupid jokes.

"Shigure, grow up."

Shigure's eyes widened a little, realizing that Yuki didn't believe him.

"No really Yuki-kun! Kyo-kun bought baby powder! He did!"

Yuki began walking upstairs.

"Yuki-kun!!"

Yuki reached the top of the stairs and continued towards his room.

_Shigure can be utterly stupid sometimes. _

Yuki thought to himself as he opened his door.

_Well actually, he's stupid a lot of the time. But really, why would he try and convince me that Kyo bought baby powder? If he was trying to make me confront Kyo or something foolish, than that was his lamest attempt I've ever seen._

Yuki sat down at his desk and opened his math text book. He took out a sheet of paper and a pencil and began answering questions.

_I mean, Kyo buying baby powder? That's just stupi-. _

Yuki hand momentarily stopped writing as a thought entered his head.

_Could this have something do to with phone call two days ago? _

He asked himself.

_Didn't Tohru-san...or whoever that was, mention that Kyo had to pick up baby powder?_

Yuki started tapping his pencil as the memory came back to him.

_Yeah she did. And Kyo told her that he would. But than Kyo also said that he didn't mean to say he would. _

Yuki shook his head and turned his attention back to his math.

_What am I even worrying about this for? It's not like Kyo _actually _bought baby powder..._

Kyo sat on the floor, his back against the wall. He held the small bottle of baby powder in front of him, reading and re-reading the words that ran across it.

_Original Baby Powder_

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, the boy brought the item closer to his face. Then without any warning he through it across the room. The bottle slammed into the wall with a loud _thunk. _

Kyo put his head in his hands.

_Why did I just throw the baby powder away? Miki-chan need's that._

_Shut up shut up! Stop talking! I don't NEED any baby powder! NOBODY does! Get out of my head!_

_Tohru asked me to pick it up on my way home from work. I don't want to make **her** go and get it. _

_Tohru doesn't need anything from the store! I didn't go to work I went to SCHOOL! Just SHUT UP! _

_But Miki-chan really need's that..._

He was literally having a war in his head with himself. Thought after thought entered his mind, everyone new one arguing with the last. They just wouldn't stop. Part of him didn't have a clue why he bought baby powder, but the other part of him knew exactly why he had.

Though while these two part's fought, in the back of his mind Kyo thought that he was finally going insane.

The war continued...

_I don't even know who Miki IS!_

_Miki's my daughter, of course I know who she is. _

_I DON'T HAVE A DAUGHTER! _

_Sohma Miki, born April 10. She's eight month's old..._

_STOP IT!!!_

_She has dark brown hair, and she already can walk..._

_No she cant, she cant... there's no person on this earth named Sohma Miki... she's not real... she's not real!_

Kyo clutched his hair, his eyes wide. Any one who might have looked at him at that moment would have thought him to be crazy.

_Though Miki is only my second daughter. We have another daughter, she's three years old... her name's- _

"SHUT UP!"

Kyo slammed his fist into the wall, hoping that pain- any pain - would stop the voices.

It worked.

Kyo lifted his head in surprise at the sudden silence. It stopped... that stupid voice finally stopped.

"Um, Kyon? Is... everything alright?"

Kyo looked up to see Shigure standing in his door way, obviously confused at what he had seen. Kyo lowered his hand to his side and glared.

"What do you want?"

Shigure cleared his throat.

"Akito-san want's to see you right now."

Kyo scoffed

"Right now? He want's to see me right now? Well tell him he can wait, I'm not exactly in the mood to see anyone right now."

It was true- when you felt like you were going crazy you didn't exactly have time to make house call's.

Shigure stared at Kyo, a small frown on his face. Nobody, not even hot headed Kyo said no when Akito called them.

"Kyo what's the matter?" Shigure asked. He was a little concerned at his younger cousin's extremely weird behaviour.

Kyo turned his head.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just not in the mood to talk to Akito-san."

"Kyo you have to."

"Why?" Kyo almost yelled. "It's not like I'm apart of the zodiac or anything. Why should I have to answer when he call's?"

Shigure's frown deepened.

"Kyo, I don't know what you think your doing but stop it. You have to go."

Kyo wanted to retort back, but he stopped himself. He knew Shigure was right. Just because he wasn't officially apart of the zodiac, he was still the cat. And that meant he went.

Kyo grabbed his jacket and put it on, passing Shigure and walking out of his room. He made his way down the stairs and put his shoes on. After a few more seconds the sound of the door was heard as it opened and shut.

Shigure sighed and took a quick glance in the room. Just as he was about to leave he spotted something in the corner.

The baby powder Kyo had boughten seemed to have been thrown against the wall and broken open. The white powder left a trail on the wall and now lay on the floor.

Shigure stared blankly at it. After a moment he smiled and closed the door.

"Maybe Kyo-kun needed to use it and couldn't get it open."

- - -

It took Kyo only twenty minutes to walk to the Sohma main house. Most people who were summoned never usually knew why they had been called, but Kyo did. Akito was going to inform him that he only had a day left. One day, and than he would forever live at the main house, in a dark little room known as the Cat House. A room that would quench the fear of other's who feared that cat and it's monstrous form. In Kyo's eyes, this was his death sentence. His consequence for being born.

Kyo looked up when the roof of the main house came into view. Kyo wanted to laugh.

_It's funny. Only twenty minutes ago I was completely caught up with that whole issue with the voice and my going crazy. Now all I can think about is Akito and graduation. _

Kyo walked up the steps of the main house and went inside. A maid quickly came to him and led him to Akito's room.

Kyo walked inside Akito's room. The day had turned to night, and the only light in the room came from the natural light of outside.

"Welcome back Kyo."

Kyo frowned slightly when he heard Akito's voice. Normally it would take a person a few minutes for their eyes to adjust to the dark, but for Kyo it didn't take any time at all. He could already see the outline of Akito in the back of the room, almost directly ahead of him.

"Well aren't you going to say hello to me?" Akito finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

Kyo took a defiant stance. He wasn't going to let Akito affect him like last time.

"I don't see why I should."

Akito made a quiet 'tut tut' with his mouth. Kyo watched as he stood up.

"Why Kyo that's no way to speak to me. Why must you be so intent on defying me and your fate?"

Akito smiled.

"Of course, it wont really matter anyway. In a few days time you will come here one last time, and you will stay here forever."

Kyo didn't say anything. Akito figured he had hit Kyo in a sensitive spot and continued.

"You know, they say that all the cat's of the zodiac die very young. Kazuma's grandfather lived the longest. But even then he died younger than the normal person lives. Oh, but then, your not normal, are you?"

Kyo could almost see the smirk on Akito's face.

Akito stayed silent for a few moments, waiting for Kyo to say something. Usually by now the cat would have yelled at him and tell him that he would never go to the cat room, that he would defeat Yuki, and finally become a member of the zodiac.

"What, cat got your tongue?"

Kyo glared at Akito.

"Shut up! All you do is talk, talk, talk! You think I really care anymore? You think I care if I get locked up? I already know I wont defeat Yuki! I know that I'm a monster! I KNOW!"

Akito smirked. Hook, line, and sinker.

"What, so you've given up? What about your little Tohru? Doesn't the little kitty love her?"

It was at this point that the voice came back. The voice that tried to convince him that he was someone else... someone with a completely different life.

_I do love Tohru, I do. I love her so much I cant stand it. We're going to get married, and have kids, and have a wonderful life together. We're..._

Kyo put his hand to his head, trying to make the voice stop. This was all nonsense, and he knew it.

"I don't love her..."

Akito raised his eyebrows.

"What was that?"

"I don't love her."

"Say it again."

"I DON'T LOVE TOHRU!"

Akito smiled for the third time that night.

"Because I'm so compassionate, I'll let you have your last day. Tomorrow night I'll have Hatori pick you up and bring you here. Good bye Kyo, see you soon."

Kyo glanced one last time at Akito, then turned around and left the room.

As he walked home, Kyo ran through the conversation over and over in his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about the words he had spoken, what he said he believed.

"_I DON'T LOVE TOHRU!"_

He did love her, and he knew it. But he also knew that it would never work between them. He was leaving tomorrow, and even if he did say that he loved her, it wouldn't change a thing. He'd still have to go to the Cat House, and rot there till he finally died.

_I wont fight it _

Kyo thought to himself as he stumbled into Shigure's house. Everyone was asleep by now, including Tohru.

_I'll just go along quietly. I wont make a fool of myself, like I've done before._

Kyo made his way up the stairs, and finally into his room. He shut the door behind him, not even bothering to turn on the lights. He fell onto his bed, not even bothering to take his clothes off. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over him, and in a matter of seconds he was out like a light. The last few words he heard were the ones he had spoken to Akito twenty minutes before.

"_I DON'T LOVE TOHRU!"_

- - -

Well that's a wrap! I hope you all enjoyed it, and will stick around for the next chapter (it's gonna be my favourite to write).

Thanks to all who reviewed! And I apologize if this chapter seemed awful short or stupid. I tried, really I did. Though I am writing this before I head off to bed, so if anything seems a little weird, I blame it on my lack of sleep.

I already have the next chapter planned out and everything, so there will be one, don't worry. Though midterms are coming up, so I may not be able to update regularly. Sorry!

I'm really sorry that Kyo-kun's really out of character. Believe me, it bothers me as much as it bothers you!

Thanks for reading, and **tell me if you want me to continue. **I felt this chapter was a little off, so I don't know how many people are still interested in it.

Thank's to you all!

Sakoko-chan


	4. Chapter 4

**In The Company of my Future**

Chapter Four

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

I'm sorry this was a little late. I had a case of writers block, and couldn't really think of what to write or how to write it. I also had midterms, so some time was spent studying.

Actually I still kinda have writers block right now, but I tried to push myself to finish, since I know I'm gone for the next few days. So if the chapter seems a little off or just plain bad, that's why.

Here's chapter four! I hope you enjoy. I'll try and make future chapters better!

- - -

Kyo moved around in his sleep, trying to get into a comfier position. He moaned as light hit his unopen eyes, trying to tell him that it was time to get out of bed. Determined to fall back asleep, Kyo turned onto his side and breathed in deeply. The scent of strawberries entered his nose, and he smiled contentedly. He buried his face in the warm pillow, ready to sleep. As he did so, a small sigh was heard.

But it wasn't from him.

Kyo ignored it, thinking he was simply hearing things.

"Mmm... Kyo-kun..."

Kyo's eyes shot opened and he sat up in his bed, his brain fully awake at the sudden call of him name. But what he saw only made him think he had to be dreaming.

Tohru lay beside him, sleeping with a smile on her face. Her brown hair lay strewn across the pillow, and Kyo realized that her hair was what he had smelled, and obviously buried his face in. A deep blush crossed his cheeks as he shot away from the bed, his eyes wide. He was about to yell out, but stopped himself. If he had accidentally crawled into bed with Tohru during the middle of the night, than he wanted absolutely **no** one to know about it.

Kyo stood up shakily to his feet, his eyes still fixated on Tohru, hoping his hardest that she wouldn't wake up. He walked over to the door slowly, as silent as a cat. When he reached it, he grabbed the door knob and quietly stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

Kyo stood with his back to the door, his eyes still wide in shock as he realized what he had done. Could it be that his subconscious was making him do things while asleep in response to his verbal rejection of Tohru?

Kyo shook his head.

This all had to be a dream. It had to be. And if not, than he would bang his head against a wall until he knocked himself out and forgot this whole incident ever happened.

Kyo nodded, satisfied with his decision. He breathed in deeply, and began walking down the hallway. He made his way to his room and opened the door, ready to forget that this ever happened. Kyo walked inside and shut the door behind him. It was then that he noticed two significant changes about his room.

One, a small night light lay turned on in the socket on the left hand wall.

_Odd._

Kyo thought as he raised his eyebrows.

_Last time I checked I didn't sleep with a night light. _

The second thing Kyo noticed was a crib that stood against the wall straight ahead of him.

_Okay_

Kyo thought as he gripped the door knob and began to turn it.

_Obviously this is a dream. Why I'm dreaming that a baby moved into my room, I don't know. But all the same, I'd rather not be here right now._

Turning around Kyo opened the door and walked out. He closed the door behind him. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself, determined not to shout or lose his cool. Since this was a dream, he would be waking up any minute to find Tohru downstairs making breakfast for everyone, just like normal. He didn't want to end up jumping out of bed yelling, than having to explain himself to everyone. It would just be another embarrassing situation for him to endur-.

"Daddy?"

Kyo's eyes shot open and he looked down to see a small girl staring up at him with wide, curious eyes. She was in her pajamas, and she was holding on tightly to a blanket.

Kyo blinked.

The girl tilted her head to the side and smiled.

"Hi daddy."

"AAAHHH!!!"

Tohru shot out of her bed, her senses on full alert. Her head swivelled around as she looked for the source of the yell. She turned to her left to wake up Kyo, but found that he wasn't there. Standing up she quickly ran out of the room, only to find Kyo and Sakura standing in the hallway. Sakura was looking up at her father with wide, curious eyes. Kyo was standing across from her, his own eyes wide, though they definitely weren't curious.

"Kyo?"

Tohru stared at Kyo, confusion all over her face.

"Kyo what's wrong?"

Kyo turned his head to her his eyes widening even more.

"Tohru?"

The woman sighed. Kyo could act so weird at times.

"Yes Kyo, it's me. Can I ask why you were yelling?"

Kyo stared at Tohru. It was then that he noticed she looked older. Much older. Like, 'way past a teenager' older. She had to be at least in her early twenties. She was wearing flannel pajamas, and her hair was long and messy, but it was definitely Tohru.

"Kyo? What's the matter? Is something wrong? Did you see something? Oh no, what happened?!"

Kyo listened to Tohru as the worry in her voice escalated. Though he didn't really pay any attention to that. He was more concerned as to why she wasn't a teenager any more.

"Daddy?"

Kyo's thought's were suddenly turned back to the little girl in front of him. He didn't say anything to her, he just stood there and stared.

Tohru saw this, and walked over to him.

"Kyo." She said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Kyo looked at Tohru, not sure what to say. He decided to put it bluntly.

"Who's that?"

Tohru's eyes widened.

"Wh-what did you say?

"Who is that?" Kyo repeated. "And why do you look older? And why is my room changed? Why-."

"Kyo!"

Kyo stopped talking.

"Kyo that's your daughter, Sakura! And I'm Tohru, your _wife!_"

Kyo stared, a frown on his face. He was too taken aback by this statement to really say anything except,

"What?"

Tohru was now very worried. How could Kyo forget her and Sakura? Did he hit his head in the night? Did he somehow get amnesia? But most of all, how could she get him to remember again?

Than suddenly a thought hit her. She smiled in relief.

"Oh Kyo!" She sighed.

Kyo raised his eyebrows, taken aback by Tohru's sudden change in character.

"Wh-what?"

"Your just kidding with me, aren't you? Just like you were the other day! You and Yuki both tried to convince me you had amnesia!"

Kyo's eyes widened.

_The phone call. She remembers the phone call! But... but how...?_

Tohru continued to smile as she took Kyo's hand in her own. She than took Sakura's hand and led the two across the hall and into the kitchen.

It was then that Kyo realized that this wasn't Shigure's house. His room was upstairs and the kitchen was downstairs.

_Maybe this isn't a dream. I mean, if I was dreaming about Tohru and I living together, wouldn't I dream it in a house that is familiar to me? _

Kyo let himself be led to the kitchen table. He started to sit down when he suddenly banged his elbow against the table, hitting his funny bone.

"OW!"

Kyo grabbed his elbow, wincing in pain. It was then that he realized that this was no dream. You didn't feel pain in a dream.

"Oh Kyo are you alright?"

Tohru let go of his hand and looked at him worriedly.

Kyo stared at her, and she at him.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

Tohru smiled.

"I'm glad."

Tohru leaned forward and placed her lips on Kyo's. Kyo was surprised at first, but soon found himself kissing her back.

He felt as though he were in heaven. He had wished so often that he could tell Tohru he loved her, but he would always end up running away. Just like he always did.

"Ew! Mommy and daddy are kissing! Mommy's gonna get cooties now!"

Kyo felt Tohru smile and they broke apart. Kyo looked at Tohru, not sure what to say. Tohru smiled at him, then walked over to the stove, turning it on.

"Kyo could you get Miki for me?" Asked Tohru as she turned around.

Kyo continued to stare, but now for a new reason.

"Wh-what?"

Tohru just rolled her eyes and playfully pushed Kyo over and into the hallway.

"Please get her, I'm going to make breakfast, okay?"

Kyo couldn't do anything but nod in confusion and walk down the hallway. He watched as Tohru disappeared into the kitchen. He then turned his attention to his room - no, _Miki's _room. He opened the door and turned on the lights. To his surprise Miki was already standing in her crib - no, she was crawling _out _of her crib. Her little arms clung to the side as she tried to somehow get to the ground. Then without any warning she slipped. Without even thinking Kyo had yelled and ran over to her.

"Hey!"

The orange haired man grabbed the girl just as she was about to hit the floor. He closed his eyes, awaiting the _poof._ But it didn't come.

Kyo heard Miki giggle, and he opened his eyes slowly. He stared at her, then at himself.

_I'm still holding her_

He thought as continued to glance from himself to his daughter.

_But... how could that be... I'm the cat... unless..._

And suddenly it clicked. He was in his future, he had to be. Well, _some _future, anyway. And the curse was broken. And he wasn't living in the cat room, like he had been told he'd be. And he was married to Tohru... something he thought was the last thing that would happen to him.

Miki giggled again, bringing Kyo out of his thoughts.

The small girl clapped her hands, making gurgling sounds. Kyo stared at her, into her face, into her eyes. She looked so happy. So happy just to be with him.

"Kyo? Is everything all right?" Tohru's voice came wafting through the hallway and into the room.

Kyo looked out the door, than at Miki. He held Miki tightly in his arms and stood up, getting used to this new feeling.

The feeling of being a father.

Kyo walked into the kitchen with Miki and sat down beside Sakura. He set Miki in his lap and watched as Tohru scurried around the kitchen, setting dishes of food on the table and going back to get more. After a few minutes Kyo couldn't help but ask,

"Is there anything I can do Tohru?"

He looked at Tohru as she laughed her sweet, loving laugh that he loved so much.

"Kyo you ask me that every morning! I'm fine, really. Thank you though!"

Kyo gave her one last glance, than turned to Sakura, who had been tapping him for a while now.

"Uh, yes?"

Sakura gave Kyo a weird look, but shook her head.

"Daddy are we visiting Machi and Yuki-ojisan today?"

"Yu-Yuki-ojisan?" Kyo repeated, not sure he heard right.

Tohru finally sat down and put some food on her plate.

"Yes. We're going to visit them today." She turned to Kyo, only to see his confusion written plainly on his face. "You didn't forget, did you honey?"

Kyo's head snapped up.

"For-forget? No... no! Of course I didn't! Um..."

Kyo stopped, not sure how to continue.

Tohru saw this and spoke.

"Are you feeling alright Kyo? You've been acting strange all morning!"

_Ring! Ring!_

Kyo didn't have a chance to answer as the phone suddenly rang. Tohru was about to stand up when Kyo instinctively stopped her.

"No, I'll get it."

Kyo began to stand up, when at the last second he remembered that he had a baby in his lap. He quickly grasped Miki in his arms and walked towards the phone. He didn't consciously know where the phone was located, but his feet did. They led him to the phone which was in the living room. He picked it up, careful to keep a hold on Miki.

"Hello?"

"Oh good morning Kyo!"

Kyo's eyes widened as he realized who he was talking to.

"Shigure?"

"Yes! How did you know? I would have thought you'd forgotten me, since I was gone for so long!"

Kyo furrowed his eyebrows. For a moment he forgot that he wasn't living with Shigure.

"Shigure what are you talking about?"

"I see your voice is as deep and gruff as ever!"

Kyo frowned.

_Deep? Gruff? _

"Shigure, what-?"

"Never mind Kyo! I'll tell you all about it later, since I can tell your dying to know. But do you think you'd be kind enough to let me talk to my flower for a bit?"

Something snapped in Kyo's mind, and without thinking he yelled,

"How many times have I told you to stop CALLING her that! She's not your flower!"

Shigure chuckled.

"Oh yes, I forgot. She's _your _little flower."

Kyo shook his head, trying to get rid of a headache that was beginning to form. He could hear Shigure talking some more, but he couldn't make out exactly what he said. After a moment he managed to say,

"Look Shigure, we're busy right now. Call back some other time, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer Kyo turned the phone off and placed it back in it's holder. He closed his eyes, trying to get rid of the pain in his head.

"Dadda?"

Kyo opened his eyes slowly, realizing that he was still holding Miki.

"Dadda..."

Kyo couldn't help but smile at the girl's pretty face.

_I don't know how I got here_

He thought as he walked back into the kitchen. He smiled as he watched Tohru and Sakura eating and talking with each other. Tohru looked up at him as he walked in, smiling widely when she saw him.

_But I think I like it_

_- - -_

Well there it is. I'm sorry if it was off. I really had to push myself to finish, since I didn't want to make you all wait another week.

Thank you all for your reviews! They mean a lot to me, and they tell me that you guys still want me to keep going. Thanks so much!!!

I'll update when I can, though it may be a while, since I'm gone all weekend and into the week for my birthday. Again, I hope you all liked the chapter!

Until next time!

-Sakoko-chan


	5. Chapter 5

**In The Company of my Future**

Chapter Five

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

Warnings: There MAY be a spoiler at the end, but it's nothing real big unless (spoiler here) you didn't know that Kyo knew Kyoko-san when he was young.

- - -

Kyo gently put Sakura's arms through her jacket and slowly zipped it up. He stared at her, searching her crimson coloured eyes. Searching for...something. He was vaguely aware that she was staring right back at him.

_I cant believe I'm going along with this_

Kyo thought to himself as he stood up and reached for his own jacket. He put it on and quickly stuffed his hands in his pockets.

_I mean, am I totally sure that this isn't a dream? It... it has to be a dream... a dream of what I want. What I want my future to be. I cant **really** be in the future..._

Kyo had yet to make a decision on whether or not this place and life was really real. A part of him said, quite defiantly, that this was a dream and nothing more. But another part of him, a part that was slowly becoming stronger and stronger, was saying that this somehow was real. That this really was his future, no matter what he had been told his future would be.

"Ah..."

Kyo looked up to see Tohru's arms fumbling with a folded up baby carriage, a baby's bag, and a baby.

"Tohru!"

Kyo swiftly walked over to Tohru and took Miki in his arms, then grabbed the baby carriage. Tohru looked up at him thankfully.

"Ah, thank you Kyo-kun!" She said as she placed the bag on the floor.

Kyo couldn't help but smile. Tohru was always shy when it came to asking someone for help.

_At least there are some things that haven't changed about her. _

Kyo blinked. Where had that thought come from? Why would Tohru have changed?

- - -

When they were all outside Kyo was met with the bright sunlight blinding his eyes. He squinted, trying to see properly before taking another step.

"Daddy come on!"

Sakura tugged at Kyo's hand and tried to pull him in the direction that she wanted to go. Kyo, still temporarily blinded, made no protests as he was pulled along the sidewalk like a dog on a leash.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! You and Daddy stay with Mommy and Miki-chan, okay?" Said Tohru as she carefully strapped Miki into the baby carriage.

Sakura stuck out her lower lip and pouted.

"But mommy! Daddy wants to go to the park!"

Kyo, now able to see again, raised his eyebrows. Since when was it _him _that wanted to go to the park?

Tohru glanced at Kyo, who looked back.

"U-um, well I g-guess, if you want to Kyo-kun... you can take Sakura-chan and go to the park."

Kyo stared at her, noticing the all too familiar apprehensive look on her face that she got whenever she was going to do something that she never really wanted to do. Kyo quickly realized that she didn't want to walk on the street by herself.

Without a second thought the man replied,

"No Sakura-chan, we'll stay with your Mother, okay?"

Kyo watched as Sakura's eyes became as big as saucers, and her lower lip began to tremble. Tears began to fill her eyes, and she opened her mouth to yell, but was suddenly stopped by the feeling of being lifted into the air.

Kyo picked Sakura up quickly and put her on his shoulders, getting ready to take her down again incase she started to cry. But after a few seconds of being stunned (one minute she was on the ground and the next on her father's back) Sakura broke out into a grin and laughed.

Kyo sighed in relief and he glanced at Tohru. He saw her smiling at him, and he couldn't help but to blush.

Tohru caught this and asked,

"Are you okay Kyo-kun?"

Kyo snapped his head away and began to walk forward.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Come on, we better get going or we'll be late, for...for..."

Tohru stared after Kyo for a few seconds, than began to push Miki.

"We're going to visit Shigure-san, remember Kyo-kun?"

Kyo didn't know what to say.

_Shigure? But we live with- oh, that's right. He just got back from his trip, and Tohru wanted to go see him. I-_

Suddenly his foot caught on a very high rise in the sidewalk, and he stumbled. He fell forward at lightning speed, and without thinking he grabbed onto the two legs that were hanging by his neck. He quickly stepped forward, and in the neck second, managed to save himself from falling.

"Kyo-kun! Sakura-chan!"

Kyo stood still for a moment, not realizing that his heart was beating a million miles a minute. He heard Tohru calling his name, but he didn't respond. He could vaguely feel the pressure of two small hands that were wrapped tightly around his head.

_How could I have been so stupid?_

He asked himself as he turned his head and looked at Tohru. She looked panicked and worried.

_I-I could have...I could have hurt her! I could have killed her!_

"Kyo-kun! Are you alright?"

"Um, y-yeah, I'm fine. Is Sakura okay?"

Tohru smiled in relief, glad that Kyo hadn't hurt himself in some way.

_I love Kyo-kun so much. He's always caring for other's more than himself. Ever since that day he saved that little girl..._

"Sakura-chan looks fine, Kyo-kun." Said Tohru. "Are you alright Sakura-chan?"

Sakura, who had by now taken her hands off Kyo's head, smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yes! Daddy saved me."

Kyo couldn't help but smile at the girls innocent voice. After a moment he said that they should start going again, and they did.

- - -

Tohru did most of the leading, as Kyo was having a hard time figuring out where to go. Unlike before in the house, where he knew exactly where the phone was, his feet now did not want to automatically take him places that he should already know. In fact, he couldn't remember anything that he knew before. It was like the waves on the shore, moving forward and backwards. One minute he felt right at home, and he could remember people's names and everything about them. Then the next minute he felt like a total stranger in another persons shoes, not knowing anything about anything.

After seven or ten minutes of walking, the family eventually arrived at a house that lay near a forest.

To Kyo it was like being right back at home, where he should be. Though while he thought this, another part of him said that he hadn't been here for years.

As if to agree with this statement, Tohru said,

"We haven't been to Shigure's house for years, Kyo-kun! But it still looks the same as when we left it."

Kyo looked over the house and indeed, it did look just as it had when he went to bed in it last night. A part of him was surprised that it did.

The four reached the door and without thinking Kyo knocked loudly. After a moment a "come in!" was heard, and Kyo opened the door.

Kyo took Sakura off his shoulder's and set her on the ground.

"Waaah! Daddy lift me back up! Lift me back up!!"

Kyo stared at her, not sure what to do. It had been instinct to pick her up before when she had been about to cry, but now he was at a lost.

"My flower!!!!"

Sakura's eyes widened and she spun around, her arms outstretched and a huge smile on her face.

"Shigure-ojisan!!!!"

She ran to the man in the hallway and gave him a huge hug. The man lifted her up and threw her in the air. The girl giggled loudly and laughed.

"Shigure-san!" Tohru said.

The woman ran over to Shigure and gave him a hug.

Kyo could only stare.

Shigure looked no different than he had when Kyo had left him last night. He still wore the same kimono he always wore, and his hair was as black as ever. But there was something different about him. Kyo couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew that he wasn't exactly like the Shigure from yesterday.

Shigure finally raised his head, a huge grin on his face. He set Sakura down and bounced over to Kyo, who was standing by Miki's baby carriage.

"Ah! Kyo-kun! You came too! Oh I'm so happy!"

Shigure opened his arms and was about to hug Kyo when the said man stepped back quickly.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Shigure stared at Kyo. Tohru stared at Kyo. Miki stared at Kyo. Sakura smiled at Kyo.

"Hey, Shigure-ojisan! That's my daddy!"

After a few more seconds, Shigure broke out into a grin.

"Still the same Kyo-kun!" He turned back to Tohru. "Tohru-kuuun! Kyon's being meeaan! I thought when you two got married you'd make him nicer!"

Kyo shook his head. Some things never changed. Though even nearly falling down with Sakura on his back, and nearly getting tackled by Shigure, Kyo couldn't help but feel happy, like he belonged here.

He never before had felt like he belonged.

"So my flower! What have you and Kyon been doing for the past year?"

Shigure and Tohru walked into the kitchen together, Tohru telling him of the year that she and Kyo had shared while Shigure was away.

Kyo stayed behind, not sure whether to follow them or not. After a moment he realized that Miki was still in her carriage. He figured he couldn't just leave her there, so he bent down to unstrap her and pick her up. But when he did, the most unexpected thing happened.

Miki spoke.

But it wasn't a baby's first words. Instead of garble coming out in a baby's voice, complete, and perfect sentences came out, and they were spoken by a woman.

"Hello Jari."

Kyo's eyes widened in realization. He barely managed to say it, but when he did he could only manage a whisper.

"...Kyoko-san?"

- - -

There. It's done. Finally. Finally, I have done my duty and updated.

I'M SO SORRY!!!!!!!! (cries)

Oh man, it totally wasn't meant to take this long! Though I have to say, that the fault partially lies with school and homework. For some reason the teachers wanted to load it on at the beginning of this semester, starting with like, five different types of essays. I'm sorry!!

Thanks to those who reviewed, and to those who reviewed even later on to see if I was still continuing. I am I am! It just took me forever to do it. Hopefully my next updates wont be nearly this long of a wait (it shouldn't be, and I'll try very hard for it not to be).

I apologize if this chapter seemed stupid or weird. I was kinda going through writers block as well, and I was kicking myself to finish, eventually allowing myself to just put down something and see if I could go on from there.

I hope it was okay! PLEASE REVIEW and tell me if you want continuations. As Yoko Maki-sensei says:

"It would be tragic if this story were to suddenly end, so please keep supporting me!"

You can do that through reviews, of course. **So please review**and tell me if you want more!

Again, I apologize for the long wait. I'm still here, and I'm still doing this story.

Until next time,

Sakoko-chan

Oh! By the way, (spoiler) "Jari" is what Kyoko-san always called Kyo-kun when they knew each other.


	6. Chapter 6

**In The Company Of My Future**

Chapter Six

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing! Natsuki Takaya owns it all!

**Warnings: **There may be some spoilers in the manga for the later volumes out in Japan.

Haha! Told you tall I'd get chapter six out didn't I? Well here it is!

And a good thanks to kyolover12! Got me prompted for some reason to work on chapter six better than I had been before. Oh, and by the way, there's no hard feelings about the review you gave me, if you even care. I myself as well have gotten all excited when I see a new chapter, only to be disappointed by an authors note. Has happened many, many times, and I'm sure it's happened to others as well.

But an even **BIGGER** thanks to** ryouoh-chan**! You totally made my day. I hadn't even read the review from kyolover12, so you got me prepared for my first flame of the story : ) (can it even be categorized as a flame? It was a flame to me personally, but not to my story).

And thanks so much for writing in response to the flame! Normally being told "I hate you" by someone else would get me very, very upset and I probably wouldn't have continued this story, but you were awesome, and I thank you lots for it.

So now that that's said and done, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to **ryouoh-chan**. This chapter wouldn't be here without your review! Thanks a million. Your an awesome person.

And in case you guys didn't read the authors note last chapter, "Jari" is something Kyoko-san called Kyo when he was younger.

- - -

**The Future**

"Hello Jari."

Kyo stared.

"...Kyoko-san?"

Miki smiled.

"Yes! But I'm surprised you remembered so fast! Having fun with my Tohru-chan?"

Kyo blinked, not sure what to say. Maybe he was hallucinating. It sure would fit, considering he woke up as what seemed to be his future life.

"Er... um, ho-how are you talking to me?"

A grown woman's laugh erupted from Miki.

"Same old Jari! Still gets as flustered as ever!" Said Miki. "Well I suppose you'd like an explanation, wouldn't you?"

Kyo could only nod his head after another moment of stunned silence.

Kyo could hear his daughter sigh, then suddenly she started talking very fast.

"Well you see I happen to know a lot of people up here, right? And so when I saw what could happen I obviously couldn't let that happen so I pulled a few strings, got some friends to do stuff, but then they started asking questions, and I had to answer them of course so I made up excuses and stuff, smart of me really, though I don't know how that'll all go down up here but anyway I managed to get you a ticket to experience your future life so that maybe you could- oops, cant say that. Part of the rules."

Kyo shook his head, not sure of what he had just heard.

"Say that again, but like a normal person. And in terms I can understand."

Miki rolled her eyes.

"Well, basically you were going to make a choice."

Kyo raised his eyebrows.

"A choice? A choice about what?"

"Well I cant tell you that, you see? Part of the rules. Well anyway you were going to make a choice, and I knew what would happen if that choice was made, so I managed to pull a few strings up here with some old friends that owed me some things," A this point Miki grinned slyly. "And I was able to get you a ticket into the future. Your future, with my Tohru-chan."

Kyo stared, then frowned.

"So I make a choice...in the past-er, present?"

"Yup."

"And so because of that choice, you somehow sent me to the future?"

"I'm surprised, your catching on real fast!"

"So...this is the future of my choice?"

Miki nodded, then shook her head.

"Well, if you _make _that choice."

"Well what choice do I have to make?"

"I told you I cant tell you that! That's for you to decide! Man, don't you young people ever listen?"

Kyo looked down, not sure what more to say, what questions to ask.

Kyoko caught this and smiled through Miki.

"Aw, don't worry Jari. The young people in my day didn't listen either."

Kyo looked up to say that that wasn't why he had stopped talking, but was cut off by Kyoko.

"Oops, looks like my times up Jari. I have to go, but remember what I said, kay?"

Miki closed her eyes.

Kyo's eyes widened at the realization that Kyoko was leaving again. For a moment it had been like she never had left.

"Wait! Don't go! I'm sorry!"

There was a pause, then Miki opened her eyes again.

"Sorry? About what?"

Tears began to form in Kyo's face, the memories and nightmares of what he had been living with for the past three years of his life finally resurfacing and spilling over.

"I didn't mean to do it! Honestly I didn't! I was selfish, and I know it! I'm sorry! Please, forgive me, I'm sorry."

Miki's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh Jari...I never once blamed you."

Kyo's eyes widened.

"But you said-."

Miki smiled.

"I said I wouldn't unless you took care of my Tohru-chan."

Kyo's eyes remained wide, but the tears had suddenly stopped.

"...What?"

"I'm sorry Jari, but I really have to go now. Goodbye, and take care of my Tohru-chan. I love you both."

And with that Miki closed her eyes, opening them quickly afterwards. The baby let out a giggle at the sight at her father.

Kyo continued to stare at Miki with wide eyes. Everything...everything he had thought and believed for the past three years was a lie. Everything. If only-.

Kyo suddenly grabbed his head, moaning softly. He barely heard the soft footsteps coming up behind him. Two arms wrapped around his neck gently, holding him in a tight hug.

"Kyo-kun is everything okay?"

Kyo didn't know what to do. So many things that had never happened to him before were all happening at once, in quick succession. All of it was too much for his head for one day, and the only thing that could result from it was a massive headache.

After a moment of complete quietness, Kyo managed to speak.

"Yes, I'm fine Tohru."

He lifted his head and took Tohru's hands in his own. He stood up and brought her hands around him, not sure what he himself was doing. A part of him was wanting to blush and run away, but another felt strangely calm and content.

Tohru's arms quickly hugged Kyo again, but soon parted and went back to her side.

"Come on Kyo-kun, shall we take Miki and go into the kitchen?"

Kyo turned around and looked at her, looked into her eyes, her face...her soul. Tohru smiled, and it was then that Kyo realized that he was smiling himself.

"Okay."

- - -

**The Present**

Yuki walked beside Tohru as they treaded home along the sidewalk. Tohru's face was downcast, and her pace was slower than usual. Yuki knew exactly why this was, though he had no clue as to how to console her about it.

Kyo was missing.

He had been missing since last night. Everyone quickly assumed that it was another one of his 'runaway's' and that he'd be back before they knew it. But others knew better.

In just over a week it would be his graduation. And his death sentence. He'd be locked up into the cats room for the rest of his life, only to die and rot away for simply being born as the cat.

Though while everyone of the zodiac did not look forward to it, they could not help but wonder if he would choose to go quietly or not. All of them thought for sure that he would fight back, it was what he did after all. He had a big temper on him, though they would have to agree that it had been increased since he met Tohru, he didn't have such a short fuse. Though some people, like Kagura, knew that it wasn't in his nature to be quick to anger, it was simply the circumstances in his life that had shortened the fuse to a very short length.

So because of his getting locked up, many of the zodiac figured that he had run away. Other's argued that Kyo wouldn't run away, that that was considered cowardice, and he would never think of doing something so cowardly. Others thought that it fit him very well - he had run away from things all his life.

Yuki wasn't able to think of all these things, simply considering that he did not know that Kyo was to be locked up after graduation. Not many of the younger generation of the zodiac did, so Yuki thought that Kyo merely ran away in hopes of training and being able to suddenly beat him. He tried to convince Tohru of this, that he would be back soon, but that didn't stop her from being upset and depressed.

Yuki knew she loved his cousin, and he was quite sure that she knew too. He knew that his cousin loved Tohru, everyone knew that they loved each other. Everyone except themselves of course. So he could only tell her that he'd be back soon, while silently cursing him for making her worry so.

_I don't know where you are _He thought as he and Tohru neared Shigure's house. _But you better get back soon, or I promise that I'll...I'll..._

Inside Yuki's head he was making up the conversation that he would have with Kyo once he returned. He also envisioned the fight that they would have, and how he would beat him so bad that he would never even think to do something stupid again.

Sadly for Yuki, he did not realize that the emotions that were playing in his mind were also portraying on his face. Tohru did not realize this, as she was continuing to stare at the sidewalk in a depressed manner. Though for the passerby's, they could not help but stare at Yuki in worry and walk a little bit farther away from him, wondering if everything was going alright for him mentally.

- - -

**Future**

Kyo sat down across from Shigure, holding Miki in his lap. He frowned at the older man, not pleased of what was happening.

Shigure had arrived home only recently, so Kyo could understand that he wouldn't have a lot of food in the house, but still he could not help but be angry at him for making Tohru cook for him on their first visit over in over two years.

Shigure expertly failed to notice the glare on Kyo's face as he played with Sakura who was sitting beside him.

"But Shigure-ojisan! What happened when the boy took the girl to the movie's theater?" The five year old asked innocently.

Shigure cackled.

"Well my dear, you see the boy-."

"Shigure don't you _dare _say what your going to say or I'll-."

Shigure turned to Kyo, a fake tear running down his face.

"But Kyooooo! I was just going to tell her that the boy so nicely got her popcorn with his money!"

Kyo glared, but his temper quickly fell down.

"Sure you were..."

Sakura looked from Kyo to Shigure, not sure what was going on, though she smiled all the same.

"Ready!" Said Tohru from the stove.

She took a large pot of rice and placed it on the table.

"I'm sorry that there's not a lot of variety, but I didn't have time to go shopping so..."

"Ah it looks simply splendid Tohru-kun!" Said Shigure as he quickly spooned some rice onto his plate.

"No food in any restaurant I have been has been as good as yours! I'm sure this will taste wonderfully!"

Tohru smiled and blushed at his comments.

Kyo spooned some rice onto his plate and grabbed his chopsticks. He was about to start eating when a small hand reached out and messily grabbed the food. It was then that he realized that he had to feed two others as well. He quickly spooned a little bit more rice onto the plate, setting some aside for Miki.

Finally after Tohru put rice on a plate for both Sakura and herself, the five people started to eat as a family.

As Kyo ate, a warm feeling rose in his chest. He glanced at his two children, then at Tohru. He remembered how Kyoko had said that he'd just have to make a choice, and this is the life he'd get. He didn't know how, but he knew that he'd make this choice. He didn't know why Kyoko had sent him into the future for the results of a choice that he would surely make, but he didn't mind it. He enjoyed this knew life. No, he loved this knew life. Whatever he'd have to do, he'd do. Whatever he'd have to say, he'd say. Spending the rest of his life with Tohru and raising two beautiful kids was worth anything that he could give.

"Woah, hold on tight!"

Shigure ran around the house with Sakura on his back, the girl laughing wildly with excitement. Kyo and Tohru sat on the couch, Tohru feeding Miki with a baby bottle. Kyo turned his attention to the TV, watching in keen interest as the events of the future past by him on the news. Tohru noticed this and smiled. It wasn't very often that Kyo was so keen on listening to the news. He had never been a big TV watcher. But after a moment of study, Tohru began to notice that no matter what was on, Kyo acted very surprised, even if the event was something that had been overplayed many times. It was as though he didn't even know these things had happened.

"Kyo-kun, is everything alrigh-."

_Knock Knock_

The knock at the door caused Tohru to jump in her seat. Shigure's antics suddenly silenced, and he set Sakura down.

"Ah! Looks like Yuki-kun and Machi-chan are here!!"

At the word "Yuki" Kyo's ears twitched. He turned his attention from the TV and looked around, staring at the door.

_Yuki..._

"I'll be right back," Said Kyo to Tohru as he stood to his feet. "I'm just going to the washroom."

Kyo climbed the all too familiar stairs and walked into the bathroom. But as he closed the door and turned, he caught his reflection in the mirror. His eyes widened, and-.

"AAHHH!"

- - -

I wrote most of it tonight. It's ironic, really. The one night I have lots of homework is the night I choose to write the next chapter. : p

Well I really hope you all liked it! Please review and tell me if you did! It would be terrible if this were to discontinue, so please keep support me and tell me if you liked it and would want more!

Your Author,

Sakoko-chan


	7. Chapter 7

**In The Company Of My Future**

Chapter Seven

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Natsuki Takaya owns it all!

**Warnings: **There _may_ be some spoilers in the manga for the later volumes out in Japan, if you look reeall hard.

In reference to this chapter...

PLEASE be reminded that this is simply how **I **picture Kyo, so PLEASE don't tell me that my view is nothing near of what he really looks like. If you wish to picture Kyo as looking totally different than from what I've told, then please go ahead and do so.

I just ask that **I ****don't get flames**** for my description of Kyo-kun**, just because its kinda pointless. Thank's.

- - -

"AAHHH!!"

Kyo's hand flew up to his face, grabbing his chin. His fingers moved as he felt something he had never had before in his life.

A beard.

Dark hair with a tint of orange stretched from the sides of his head all the way down to his chin, covering both under his nose and under his mouth.

Kyo stared at the mirror, not sure exactly what to think. The beard wasn't big or anything, it was actually just slightly unshaven, as though he hadn't picked up a shaver in a few days.

After a moment of staring Kyo's eyes managed to wander to other parts of his body. His first realization was that his hair was longer than before, now reaching down to his shoulders rather than just under his ears. His shoulders were more broader as well, and he could now see his muscles from under his shirt and on his arms. The clothe's he was wearing were not much different from what he usually wore, being a simple dark blue T-shirt and jeans. Kyo rubbed his beard again as he continued to stare at his face and body.

_I-I...I'm OLD! _

24 definitely wasn't _old_, but it was a lot older than eighteen.

"Kyo-kun?! What's the matter? Is everything all right?"

Kyo's head snapped towards the door as he heard Tohru's worried voice.

"U-um, I'm fine Tohru. I just, uh..."

Kyo racked his brain, trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn't leave him looking like he had gone crazy.

"I just... realized that Shigure had this room painted, that's all. Just caught me by surprise."

There was silence for a moment beyond the door, then finally Tohru spoke.

"Um, really? Okay, er... if that's all... then I guess I'm going to go back downstairs."

"Kay Tohru."

Tohru's soft footsteps were heard as she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Kyo sighed in relief, but his troubles soon came back to him as he glanced in the mirror and saw his grown adult form. He felt his face again.

This was definitely something he wouldn't be able to get used to.

- - -

(Future Continued)

Tohru smiled happily at Shigure, then to Yuki and Machi. They were all sitting down in the living room, talking about this or that, and what each had been doing in the past few days or years. Though while Tohru was smiling and behaving normally on the outside, on the inside, she was starting to get worried.

_Why has Kyo been acting so odd lately? _

She thought as she quickly answered Machi's question about Sakura.

_I mean, sometimes he seems normal...but other times he acts as though he hasn't a clue what's going on._

Tohru glanced up the stairs, waiting to see Kyo's feet appear and begin to walk down. After a moment, they did.

"Ah!" Exclaimed Shigure happily. "Kyon finally decides to join us! How have you been Kyo?"

Kyo just rolled his eyes and sat down beside Tohru. He looked at Yuki and Machi, who were sitting across from them on two separate chairs. Kyo's eyes widened slightly when he saw Yuki holding a young toddler on his lap. He looked up and caught Yuki's eye, his own eyes narrowing slightly out of impulse. Though his eyes quickly went back to normal when he saw that Yuki didn't return his glare. Instead, the man smiled warmly and said,

"Hello Kyo."

Kyo was at a loss for words. He couldn't remember any time when Yuki had so kindly said 'hello' to him. Or even SAY hello for that matter.

"H-hello." Kyo replied.

He had to quickly remind himself of the fact that he wasn't in his time anymore, and that relationships had most obviously changed from what they once were.

After a moment of silence, Tohru spoke up and started another conversation with Yuki and Machi, with the occasional input's from Shigure. Kyo remained silent though, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to converse in any conversation since he didn't know anything that had been going on. He was barely able to wrap his head around how he came to be here; trying to understand all the future events that had been going on would probably prove to be too much to take in for his already confused mind.

Kyo's eyes eventually wandered over to the small child that sat on Yuki's lap. The toddler could have been no more than three years of age, but like any three year old, he was being very bouncy and energetic; and his most favourite pass time was definitely _not _sitting on his father's lap. Kyo watched as the boy wriggled and squirmed, discomfort of being forced to stay still evident on his face. Kyo's eyes glanced up at Yuki to see how he was handling this. Kyo could see that the man was trying to keep hold of the small firecracker, but still carry on an adult conversation at the same time. To say the least, he was not handling the multitasking very well.

Eventually Yuki set the child on the floor, tired of trying to contain him. And as soon as he did the boy was off, making his way towards the stairs, where Sakura was currently playing (Miki was in her mother's arms). Kyo's eyes watched them for a bit as they started playing together. Since Sakura was two years older, she felt it was her duty to teach Yuki's child how to play properly. Kyo stared at them as Sakura took her teddy bear that she had brought with her and began moving it around in human like manners. Kyo smiled, then turned his attention back to the conversation.

"Triston is doing very well at home. I'm thinking of sending him to preschool next year when he turns four." Said Machi happily.

Shigure smiled.

"Ah, don't send your children off to school too soon, Machi-kun. You'll only have a few years when they're like this, and then you'll have to send them away to boarding school where you'll never see them for most of their life." Shigure leaned back and began fanning himself with his hand. "I mean, why would you want to have a child when all you do for them is allow them to be raised by someone else, and never see you for their entire life?"

Kyo stared at Shigure, his eyebrows raised. This was probably the first time he had ever heard such a speech from the cursed dog of the zodiac. Such as speech that was true, that is.

Everyone else though seemed to think this as a normal thing that he did, and simply nodded in their agreement. Kyo glanced at Machi and could see that she looked slightly downcast.

_Probably because Shigure basically told her she was a bad parent. _He thought to himself.

Shigure then turned to Kyo. Kyo tensed up, startled at the sudden-and unwanted- attention.

"Kyon you haven't been talking at all!" Shigure made a face as though he suddenly understood...whatever at all needed understanding. "Ooh, Kyon _wants _to say something, but he's _shy. _Don't worry Kyon, you can tell li'l o' Shigure aall about it."

Kyo glared at the older man, his old temper beginning to flare. He was about to yell loudly at him, but was cut off when there was suddenly a loud _thunk, _followed by a wail.

Everyone's attention was turned to the stairs, where a wailing Sakura was crying buckets of tears on the ground. A happy looking Triston stood triumphantly over her, a teddy in his hands. Then suddenly out of nowhere, Miki was placed into Kyo's arms. Kyo jerked at the sudden unexpected weight, and quickly managed to grab her into his arms as Tohru ran past him towards their crying daughter, followed closely by Machi.

"Ah! Sakura-chan are you all right?" she asked as she lifted Sakura up, setting her on the floor, this time on her feet.

Kyo watched as Tohru proficiently took care of Sakura, making sure everything was alright and that her feelings weren't too badly hurt.

"Triston say your sorry and give back Sakura's bear." Said Machi sternly to her son.

Triston looked up at his mother, then to Sakura. The said girl was clinging tightly to her mother, her face buried in her shirt. Though Kyo could see that her face was slightly turned to Triston, her eyes watching and to see what he would do.

Triston fidgeted for a moment, then dropped the teddy on the floor and ran away. Or, he would have, if not for his mother having quick reflexes. Machi scooped Triston up in her arms and looked disapprovingly at him.

"Triston! Say your sorry!"

Kyo looked on as Machi and Tohru worked things out between their children.

_This is just too weird. _

Kyo turned around, only to see Yuki, who had also been watching his wife and Tohru. Yuki caught Kyo's eye and smiled. Kyo remained indifferent, not worried at the moment about trying to be the part of his future self. His eyes wandered to Shigure, who had also been watching. Shigure stared back at him, his ever present smile never leaving his face.

"Don't you just love children Kyo?"

Kyo's vision wavered, and the room began to spin. He grabbed his head in an attempt to stop it, but he only succeeded in making it worse. He was vaguely aware that Shigure was saying his name. Black spots began to appear throughout his vision, and the room tilted. His mind cleared for a moment for enough time for him to realize that he had fallen on the floor. The last thing he heard was Tohru shouting his name. Then everything went dark.

- - -

Tohru shook her head as she stared at her husbands sleeping face. She couldn't believe that Kyo had forgotten to take his medicine.

_He knows that if he misses his medicine for too long that he'll pass out. _She thought as she took a white cloth off Kyo's head. She dipped the cloth in a bowl of water and lifted it back up, waiting a few seconds to allow the excess water drip back into the bowl. She then squeezed the cloth lightly and gently placed it on the man's forehead. She leaned back and glanced outside. Her world was dark at the moment, the only light she could see came from the moon and the stars that lit up the night sky. She looked back down at the peaceful Kyo. A smile graced her lips. She lifted her hand and caressed his cheek.

"Mommy?"

Tohru turned around to see her eldest daughter staring at her from the doorway.

"Yes Sakura? What is it?"

"Mommy is daddy going to be okay?"

Sakura smiled softly and ushered her child over to her lap. Sakura's feet padded quietly against the rug as she ran over to her mother and climbed onto her lap. Tohru wrapped her arms around her and the two girls stared silently at the one man. After a few minutes Tohru finally spoke.

"Yes Sakura, daddy will be just fine."

Sakura looked up at Tohru.

"Mommy, I don't like it when daddy get's sick."

Tohru's tired eyes remained on her husband, who's face had, for just a moment, held a look of pain.

"No...Mommy doesn't like it either."

- - -

Kyo woke up to the new familiar bed and room. He turned to his left and smiled as he saw his wife's face. He lifted his tired arm and stroked her cheek.

It had been two week's since the incident at Shigure's. When Kyo had woke the next morning he had quickly learned that he had a disorder - an illness. It required him to have to take medicine every morning and evening if he wanted to stay healthy. Something he hadn't done the first morning he had woken up in the future.

Or was it the present?

Though after two weeks now, Kyo had become more accustomed to his daily life. He realized that every morning he woke up at seven and took a shower. He would then go to the kitchen to find Tohru and Sakura both up and eating breakfast. Tohru would have his plate already there for him, ready for his food to be picked out. After that Tohru would get Sakura's school things together, and Kyo would get the last minute gear he needed for work.

He had found that he actually worked as a freelance photographer-and a full time carpenter who made houses. The two jobs definitely contradicted each other, but Kyo didn't mind. He enjoyed working with his hands, and for some reason, even though he hadn't realized it before, he enjoyed taking pictures as well. He made just over the average amount of money that a family usually made, but he didn't let that fact change anything money wise. He and Tohru had both decided that they preferred to live a happy life, rather than a rich life. Many people would think that the two went hand in hand, but as Kyo and Tohru had realized at an early age, they most definitely did not.

After breakfast Kyo would say goodbye to Tohru and he would then walk with Sakura to the end of the street, where they would wait for a few minutes while the bus came. Once Sakura was gone and on her way to school, Kyo would go back to the house, get his car, and drive to work. Everything was going great, and soon Kyo had almost forgotten what had happened to him, and what had happened with Miki and Kyoko-san.

- - -

I know it's short, but it has to be ended here so that I can start the next chapter properly and do it with the effect that's needed.

I'm sorry for the wait! I'm really really really sorry!!! I'll update faster though now, cause I got the next chapter all planned out. The reason this one stalled for a while was because I wrote about half, then got stuck. Like,_ really_ stuck. That's why it may not be so good...sorry!

Thank you for reading and thank you ALL for your reviews! Again I apologize the super long wait, but I have a feeling that chapter eight will arrive sooner than chapter seven did. Which is good, I hope.

**Please review!** Review's tell me people are still reading and still want more. No flames, if you can help it. But if you're the kind of person who flames people's stories then you probably aren't even reading this author note anyway.

Thank you again for reading, and sorry for wait.

Courtesy, Your Friendly

Neighbourhood

Sakoko-chan

(Tee hee, I love spider-man)


	8. Chapter 8

**In The Company Of My Future**

Chapter Eight

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Natsuki Takaya owns it all!

**Warnings: **There _may_ (actually there are) be some spoilers in the manga for the later volumes out in Japan.

**KyosKitten**: Hi, and thanks for the review. I was wondering when someone would catch that I said Miki was walking at eight months. I knew people wouldn't believe that it could happen, but it can. The reason I can say that is because** I** was walking at eight months, and what's funny is that as a result, my parents, especially my mom, got yelled at because I was walking when I apparently shouldn't have been. People would get upset and angry and say that I shouldn't be walking, that it wasn't right. All my mum could do was say that she couldn't help it if I decided to grow up faster than usual. I hope that clears everything up! I'm sorry if you don't believe me. Please, no one respond to this! I don't need people telling me I'm wrong or that my parents are liars...

- - -

**The Future**

Kyo may have forgotten the past, but the past had not forgotten him.

Kyoko watched as Kyo smiled brightly towards his wife and children. Throughout all her years of watching the young man, she had never seen him smile so much as he had now. She knew he was happy, and she wanted him to be happy. But the past needed him back, so that he would have a future.

Kyoko smiled softly as she watched her only daughter stare after Kyo with such happiness in her eyes. Kyoko took a deep breath, unhappy of what she was about to do. Her eyes turned towards and followed Kyo as he left the house. And with that, Kyoko said to herself,

"It is time."

- - -

Kyo closed the door to the house and took his first step out onto the pavement. But as soon as he did so, a wave of dizziness surrounded him, leaving him unbalanced and unsure of where he was. Blackness soon invaded his vision, and Kyo fought hard to keep himself awake and alert.

_Wh-what's going on? _He thought to himself as he grabbed onto the door for support. _I-I took my drugs...but then why-_

Kyo's legs buckled out from beneath him and he fell to the ground, hitting his head on the cement. His breathing became laboured, and he slowly began to succumb to the darkness. Just as he was about to close his eyes for good, he heard the door open and a scream quickly follow. He focussed his eyes on the person now leaning over him. He smiled as he saw Tohru's panic stricken face.

"KYO! Kyo what's wrong?! Did you take your medicine?! Kyo stay awake!!"

Kyo's ears didn't hear any of that though. He brought his hand up to Tohru's face and smiled, finally letting himself yield to the darkness.

Tohru's wide eyes were barely able to comprehend what she was seeing. This had been one of her biggest fears ever since Kyo was diagnosed - that he would miss his medication and die. How could she live without him? She had loved almost from the day she met him. They had spent their lives together for four years. They had two children together - they had a life. How could Kyo just leave now? Now when they were at their prime. Now when they-.

Tohru shook her head in an attempt to get rid of the overwhelming thoughts that were beginning to consume her mind. She grasped onto Kyo's limp arm and tried to lift him up, though she failed miserably. She stood still, trying to get her thought's in order so that she could figure out what to do. Finally a thought hit her.

She ran into the house quickly and picked up the phone. She dialed a number and put the phone to her ear, willing for someone to pick up. As she was waiting Sakura walked into the room.

"Mommy? What's wrong?"

Tohru ignored her as she waited on the third ring. She quickly began to panic as she thought nobody would pick up.

Sakura walked over to Tohru and tugged on her skirt.

"Mommy? Mommy!"

Tohru looked down at her and made a 'shh' motion with her finger. Sakura looked at her mother, confused.

The fifth ring came, and Tohru closed her eyes, waiting for the answering machine to pick up.

_Oh please, let someone pick up._

Tohru's prayers were answered.

"Hello?"

Tohru's eyes snapped open and she quickly began talking.

"Yuki-kun! Yuki-kun you have to come over here quickly! Kyo collapsed, he-."

"Okay Tohru, calm down. I'll be right over there. Just wait a few minutes, I'll be right there."

Tohru shut the phone off and quickly ran outside, almost tripping over Sakura on her way out. She tried to apologize but her lips wouldn't move. She kneeled down by Kyo and grasped his hand, tears falling down her face.

"Oh Kyo, please be okay! Please! Just wake up, please! Everything will be alright. You just have to wake up..."

Tohru didn't know how long she waited there, it felt like it was only a few seconds. But suddenly she saw Yuki running over to her. His hair was in a mess and his clothes were dishevelled, but he was there.

"Tohru what happened?" He asked as he joined her on the ground.

Tohru quickly relayed what had happened, and Yuki was quick to act.

"Okay Tohru, let's get him upstairs and then we'll call the doctor. We know that since missing his medication wont mean certain death, we don't have to call the ambulance. Alright?"

Tohru nodded her head.

"Okay I'm going to grab onto his shoulders, and you grab his feet, okay?"

Tohru nodded again, and slowly stood up.

Yuki grabbed Kyo's shoulders and Tohru lifted his feet. Yuki continued to talk calmly to Tohru as they carried Kyo through the door and into the house, and eventually to his room. Finally the two adults managed to place Kyo on his bed.

Tohru ran a hand through the unconscious man's head and quickly covered him with the blankets. She wasn't even aware that Yuki had left to make the phone calls to the doctor and the family. She was only brought out of her stupor when a small hand tugged on her skirt.

"Mommy?"

Tohru looked down and saw her oldest daughter looking up sadly into her eyes.

"Mommy are you alright?"

Tohru tried to smile, only barely succeeding.

"It's alright Sakura-chan. Daddy just had an accident, that's all."

Sakura's eyes were quickly turned to Kyo.

"Is daddy going to be okay?" She asked.

Tohru looked back at Kyo, and could already see the sweat running down his face as the symptoms of his fever began. A tear fell down her face as she watched him.

"Daddy will get better Sakura-chan. He'll get better."

- - -

**Present Day**

Tohru walked into the house and slowly took off her shoes. She headed towards the stairs and was about to climb them when she heard Shigure's voice.

"Ah, there you are my little flower! Did you have a good day at school?"

Tohru turned and smiled to Shigure.

"Yes I did Shigure-san! Thank you for asking. Did you have a good day today as well?"

Shigure nodded his head.

"It was a very relaxing day, though except for the part when my editor called. For some reason she seemed quite more upset then usual... of course my day would have been much better if you had been here Tohru-chan!"

Tohru's smile brightened and a blush quickly touched her face.

"Ah, thank you..." Tohru turned back to the stairs. "I'll just go put my things away and then I'll come back down and do the laundry, then I'll make supper."

Shigure waved his hand.

"Take your time my little flower, take your time."

Tohru nodded her thanks and walked up the stairs.

When she reached the top she quickly headed to her room, pausing only to glimpse into Kyo's room, like she did every day since he had left. His bed was made, and still hadn't been touched for over a month. Tohru had kept everything exactly as he left it, in hopes that he would return soon someday. For hope that he hadn't run away, like everyone had said.

The bed remained empty, dust beginning to settle on top of the sheets. Tohru sighed, and continued to her room. She silently put away her things, then headed downstairs to do her chores. As she walked past the rooms, she suddenly heard laboured breathing. She stopped in her tracks, and quickly peered into Yuki's room, worry etched all over her face that the young man may be sick. But the room was empty. Tohru frowned, wondering if she was going insane. The loud breathing continued, and Tohru noticed that it was coming from another room.

Kyo's room.

Tohru's heart began to pound in her chest, and she slowly began to walk towards the noise, almost afraid of what she would find. She took a deep breath, and stuck her head into Kyo's room.

Tohru's hand flew to her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

Kyo was in his bed, and his eyes were shut in what would have otherwise been a sleeping position, except for the fact that he was in pain.

Tohru ran over to him, and instinctively felt his forehead. Her eyes widened as she quickly realized he had a fever, and without a second thought she stood up and rushed downstairs.

Shigure scanned through the paper and laughed as he read some of the names on one of the pages.

"'Nice woman searching for a nice guy to go out with. My name is Barty.' Oh I'm sure she's nice... and what kind of a name is 'Barty' for a girl anyways?"

Shigure's eyes scanned down the list as he continued reading the names.

"Likes to party...likes to dance...likes to eat out... likes to have fun... likes cats. Oh, there's someone for Kyo! I should call her and make a play date for the two of them! Once Kyo comes back of course... hmm... likes to-."

Shigure was cut off as light steps came quickly came padding down the stairs, disrupting his current thoughts. Just as he looked up he saw Tohru walk into the kitchen. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale, and Shigure could swear that she would faint anytime soon.

"Tohru-chan! What's the matter? Did you see Yuki in the shower?"

Tohru ran over to the sink, and hurriedly turned on the tap. She grabbed a bucket from the cupboard and a towel from one of the drawers. She stuck the bucket under the water and held it there, waiting for it to be filled. It was then that Shigure noticed that her hands were shaking uncontrollably, causing any water that had filled in the bucket to spill out and onto the counter.

"Tohru-chan what happened?!" Shigure asked, all teasing gone.

Tohru finally managed to fill the bucket and turned off the tap. She started to head for the stairs when Shigure stopped her.

"Tohru! What's wrong? Is Yuki-kun sick?"

Tohru stopped walking and managed to glance quickly at Shigure, trying her best to smile.

"Kyo-kun's back."

With that Tohru ran up the stairs, leaving a stunned Shigure back in the kitchen.

- - -

Tohru walked into Kyo's room again, almost expecting him to not be in his bed, thinking that what she had seen before was just a figment of her imagination. But he wasn't. He was there, in his bed, and very sick.

Tohru walked over to Kyo and knelt down quietly, taking the cloth and soaking it in the bucket. She placed it on the boy's forehead and watched as he struggled to take a breath. The young woman stared at Kyo's face, taking in the every inch of it that she had not seen for so long. She noticed that his hair was a little longer, and his face seemed more defined, but other than that everything checked out as normal. Tohru touched Kyo's face with her hand, hardly believing that he was here in front of her. Questions of how he came to be back however, didn't enter her mind, and wouldn't, until Yuki would bring them up.

"So he came back."

Tohru jumped and turned around to see Yuki and Shigure standing behind her. She smiled and quickly took her hand from Kyo's face, hoping they hadn't seen.

"Y-yes, he did." Tohru replied, momentarily turning back to stare at the young man.

Yuki frowned, though not for what most people would have thought.

"Where did you find him?"

Tohru looked up at the boy, unsure of how to really answer, since the truth seemed sort of farfetched.

"He um, he just... appeared. I was going to go downstairs when I saw him in his bed... I-I didn't hear him come in."

Yuki stared at Kyo, not sure what to think. In a way he was glad for his return, because it meant that maybe Tohru would start to act herself again. Though he couldn't help but be a little angry for the pain he had caused Tohru in the first place.

A few moments of silence passed, before Shigure finally spoke up.

"Well my little Tohru, is there anything I can do for you while you take care of our little cat?"

Tohru's eyes widened at the realization that none of the chores had been done yet, and at this rate, supper wouldn't get made either.

"Oh! Um! Well, uh, I...I didn't get a chance yet to do the laundry and- um, well I'm sure I can make supper but uh... well I'm sure I can do the lau-."

Shigure held up his hand to silence her.

"Say no more my flower, the laundry is as good as done."

Relief spread over Tohru's face as she quickly spoke her gratitude.

"Oh thank you Shigure-san! I promise I'll work extra hard tomorrow to make up for it!"

"No need my flower, no need. Just get our Kyo better!"

Shigure grinned and turned around. As he walked out the door he grabbed Yuki's collar and dragged him along with him.

"Come with me, Yuki-kun! Together we'll overcome this challenge called 'laundry'!"

Yuki glared at Shigure for dragging him into doing the chore, and pulled away from his grasp.

"Shut up Shigure, I don't have to help if I don't want to. One person is enough to do laundry."

Shigure made a pouting face, his eyes wide and his lower lip trembling.

"Oh but Yuki-kuuuun! What if the washing machine explodes! What if the dust bunnies come out and eat me?"

Yuki stared at Shigure, ready to hit him over the head if he said anything more - no matter what it was.

"Oh, it's alright Yuki-kun. You don't have to do the laundry if you don't want to." Said Tohru, doing her best to prevent any physical fighting.

Yuki looked back at Tohru, guilt slowly seeping into his conscience.

"Come on Yuki-kun! You don't want to burden Tohru-chan anymore than she already is, do you? Surely you can help her just this once."

Yuki glared, though he knew that dog of the zodiac was right. Not to mention that his guilty level was filled to the top now.

"Fine."

Yuki walked passed Shigure, ready to be done before he even started. Household tasks was something that he had never liked, or been good at.

"See you in a bit my flower!" Shigure said with a wave, and with that he was gone.

Tohru sighed and turned back to Kyo, who now, with the cold towel on his forehead, was sleeping peacefully. As she stared at his face, a lump began to rise in her throat. Had she ever thought she would see him again? Everyone had said he had run away from his fate of living in the cat house, and though Tohru didn't really want to believe that at first, she couldn't help but to slowly begin to think that maybe they were right. But now he was back, with her, and she didn't plan on losing him again anytime soon.

_If you have to run away again Kyo-kun... _Tohru thought to herself, _Then let me come with you..._

_- - -_

_**BOOM!!!**_

Tohru jumped at the sudden noise, and her eyes quickly darted around for the source of it. Almost immediately after the explosion she could hear voices from downstairs.

"SHIGURE YOU IDIOT! HOW MUCH DETERGENT DID YOU PUT IN THERE?!?!"

Shigure blinked and looked for a place that he could wipe his soap bubbled hand on so he could wipe his eyes, but not a single clean spot existed in the vicinity. He looked at Yuki, and could not help but burst into laughter.

Yuki was covered from head to toe in white soap bubbles. His arms were outstretched as he was trying to look at himself and assess the damage done. It could have been anyone under there, and the only way you'd be able to tell who it was, was if you knew their eyes really well, for that was all that could be seen.

Fortunately, Shigure knew what Yuki's eyes looked like.

Unfortunately, he also knew what they looked like when they were glaring murder at him. Only a few times had Yuki gotten so angry that he seriously looked like he would kill someone.

Today, was one of those times.

"Shigure I'm gonna _**kill **__you!"_

Shigure gave a small 'eep!' and quickly turned around and ran out of the room. Yuki ran too, though as soon as he took his first few steps he slipped and fell to the ground. From far in the distance he could hear Shigure's evil cackle of victory.

- - -

Tohru smiled to herself, glad that no one seemed hurt. She had wanted to go and see what had happened, but at that moment Kyo had groaned. Tohru thought the explosion had been loud enough to wake the dead - hopefully it could wake the living too.

Kyo's eyes opened slowly, but they quickly shut again at the sudden shot of bright light that hit them. He tentatively opened them again, this time keeping them open a few seconds longer before shutting them tight again. Finally on the third try he managed to open his eyes fully, and bit by bit the world came into focus.

Tohru watched as Kyo began to open his eyes. Her heart began to beat faster as she realized Kyo was finally waking up. She couldn't help but call out to the rest of the men in the household and alert them of the news.

"Yuki-kun! Shigure-san! Come quick! Kyo's-kun's waking up!"

In a few seconds footsteps coming up the stairs could be heard, and in a moment the two men were standing in the doorway of the room.

Kyo blinked, and realized that what peered over him was Tohru herself. He smiled softly and managed a soft,

"Hi..."

Tears began to well up in Tohru's eyes at the small, but so significant word.

"H-hi... Kyo-kun..."

Kyo reached up and touched the side of Tohru's cheek, a move that surprised and shocked everyone in the room. Kyo coughed and said,

"Guess I forgot to take my medication, huh?"

Tohru's blinked, wondering if she had heard right. She glanced at Yuki and Shigure, wondering if they knew something about it, but they were just as surprised as she was.

Kyo didn't notice the small exchange between the three, but he did notice the two extra people in the room. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and looked to Tohru.

"What are those two doing here?"

Tohru suddenly got very worried, and wondered if maybe Kyo had hurt his head while he had been gone.

"Kyo-kun...it's Shigure-san and Yuki-kun... don't you remember them?"

Kyo looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Of course I remember them Tohru, I'm just wondering what they're doing here."

"They um...they...they live here. With us. Remember?"

It was then that Kyo began to worry that things were wrong. At first he shook it off, thinking that it was all some big joke to make him think he was going crazy.

"Come on Tohru." Kyo said, pushing himself on his arms so he could get into a sitting position.

Tohru reached out instinctively, not wanting the young man to hurt himself.

"Quit the joke guys. Ha ha, yes it was very funny. Almost got me there! Now would you please tell me what's going on?" Kyo turned to Tohru. "Don't tell me you invited the whole family over just because of me."

Tohru continued to stare, totally lost.

_Maybe Kyo-kun lost some of his memory. _She thought to herself. _I...I'll just have to help him remember then!_

With a strong look of determination, Tohru began to try and relay their life to Kyo, who for some reason had seemed to forgotten it.

"Y-you see Kyo-kun! You, me, Yuki-kun, and Shigure-san all live together! You, me, and Yuki-kun go to school, and Shigure-san is a writer!"

At this Shigure puffed out his chest and looked proudly around the room.

Kyo raised his eyebrows at the man, then turned and interrupted Tohru who was about to start talking again.

"Look Tohru, I already know that Shigure is a writer. But... we all don't live together. I mean, we used to sure, years ago. But we've moved on. You and I live together, Yuki and Machi-san live together, and Shigure just got back from a book tour. I mean- gah, what am I saying? I'm probably just dreaming."

Kyo pinched himself hard, but nothing spectacular (like the room dissolving into a million pieces) happened, and Kyo was compelled to think that maybe this wasn't a dream.

The phone rang, and Shigure was forced to leave the room to pick it up. The remaining three teenagers stayed in the room, two of them staring at Kyo, and the other staring at them. Kyo decided to try one last time with Tohru, and if she continued to joke then he'd get up and find out things for himself.

"Tohru please. Just stop the joke and tell me what's going on. Where's Sakura? Is she at school? And what about Miki?"

Tohru's eyes widened at the names, and for some reason a small tug pulled on her heart when she heard them, but the feeling was gone as quickly as it came.

"Kyo-kun I'm telling the truth! Really I am! I don't know what you're talking about and I don't know anyone named Sakura and Miki!"

It was then that Kyo realized that the entire thing was not a joke.

All of a sudden the man's head began to pound with pain. Kyo grabbed his head and groaned, causing instant distress from Tohru.

"Kyo-kun! Kyo-kun what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong!?"

Kyo couldn't answer, as he couldn't hear her. But just as the pain had come, it was quickly gone. He blinked and stared at the sheets, not sure of what just happened. But the throbbing pain had left a distinctive memory in it's place.

A memory of Kyoko Honda.

Silence overtook the room, before Shigure walked in. He looked around, and could tell that the mood had changed.

"That was the main house." He said, all of the usual funniness gone.

The three teenagers looked up at him.

"Akito's coming over."

Kyo let go of his head and his eyebrows furrowed. He looked up at Shigure and said,

"Akito? But she's... dead."

- - -

Muwahahaha! It's done! It's done I tell you!

Well I hope you all enjoyed it. I really hope it's not too stupid. I'm sorry if it's not exciting or upbeat or whatever it is you all want, but I tried to make it good...really! I did! Though I have to say, not ALL chapters can be exciting. Some have to be just filled with information so that the story can be further shaped... or something like that. Um, yeah. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

SCHOOL'S...OUT! FOR, THE SUMMER! (That's supposed to be read like the song, by the way...)

There WAS something that I was going to say here, but to be frank, I've forgotten.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and will still support me as I write more. I only write when there are lot's interested, so please review and tell me if you want more! Thank you thank you thank you for all the reviews you guys have given so far! It really means a lot!! You all are awesome! (Hands out cookies).

Well until next time! Hope you all enjoy your summer vacation!!!

The one and only,

-Sakoko-chan


	9. Chapter 9

**In The Company Of My Future**

Chapter Nine

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Natsuki Takaya owns it all!

**Warnings:** There's a spoiler if you haven't read Volume 17 of the manga. **You have been warned!!**

Chapter Nine

"_What, cat got your tongue?"_

_Kyo glared at Akito._

"_Shut up! All you do is talk, talk, talk! You think I really care anymore? You think I care if I get locked up? I already know I wont defeat Yuki! I know that I'm a monster! I KNOW!"_

_Akito smirked. Hook, line, and sinker._

Everyone stared at Kyo, their eyes wide and shocked at what they just heard, but Kyo was oblivious to it all.

"Akito can't come here." He said, repeating himself. "She died years ago, along with the...the..."

Kyo winced and grabbed his head again, his eyes squeezing together in an effort to hold back the overwhelming pain that was coursing through him.

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru cried, trying desperately to find a way that she could help him, finally resolving by putting a hand to his back and drawing small circles like you would someone who was sick.

It was then that the other two Sohma men realized what else had been said.

That _she _was dead. She.

A woman.

Without thinking, Shigure asked,

"How do you know?"

Kyo looked up, and gave Shigure a queer look.

"What are you talking about? Everyone knows...there's no way anyone cannot-."

Kyo winced again and Tohru rubbed his back faster.

Shigure continued to stare at Kyo, not sure whether to believe what he was hearing. There was no possible way that he could know that Akito was really a female, unless, of course, he had seen something, but that seemed highly unlikely. The only other explanation was that somebody had told. Someone who knew obviously, but all who knew were only those of the older generation, and Shigure knew they would never betray Akito .

Thought's entered Shigure's head as to explain the situation, and they were enough that for once, he was silent in serious contemplation.

Meanwhile, Yuki, unlike Shigure, had _not _known what Akito really was, and so, as a result, he was very intrigued on this new information; and despite all the weirdness that was going on, was wanting to find out more.

"Akito's a woman?" He asked, his eyes slightly wide in the shocking surprise.

Kyo silently thanked Yuki for starting more conversation, as it seemed to clear his head and take away the pain.

"Y-yeah." He said, raising his face a little as so he could look better at his cousin

. "But I don't know why you're all acting so stupid...l-like you've never known... everyone found out years ago, right before the curse broke."

Tohru gasped loudly, and Yuki could only respond in a stunned silence. Shigure though, had been too intent on thinking, and had not heard what Kyo had said. He did, though, realize that the mood in the room had drastically changed, and he lifted his head and glanced at Kyo, then to Yuki. Noticing Yuki's stunned face, he asked,

"What? What happened?"

Kyo turned his attention to the older man, willing to talk to anyone if it meant more conversation.

"I said everyone know's Akito is dead. She died right before the c-curse broke."

Shigure was taken aback.

"The curse...broke?"

Kyo glared at Shigure angrily. He was mad. Mad at them all, for being so utterly stupid. For continuing to pretend and joke, even though he had already asked them to stop. Mad at Tohru, his wife, for playing along. Mad because he was still without the knowledge of where his two children were, and mad because his stupid, throbbing headache wouldn't go away!

"ARGH!! You guy's just don't know when to QUIT! Just QUIT already! Just-!"

Kyo was interrupted by the sound of tires on the gravel outside, and everyone's attention was then diverted to the car driving up to their house.

"Akito's here." Said Yuki in a monotone voice. Akito's visiting the house was never a happy occasion.

Though Kyo knew it was futile, and that it was also stupid, he could not resist the urge to keep telling everyone that Akito was dead. Though Akito had changed slightly before she had died, the anger for the what she had did to everyone over the year's was still fresh in his mind, even fresher now for some reason; and the thought of her being alive again was something that Kyo didn't want to believe - or to have happen.

"Yuki I told you already, Akito's dea-!"

"Look, if you're so convinced that he's dead, then come downstairs and see for yourself! Man, you can be SUCH an _idiot!_"

Yuki turned and walked out of the room angrily. He was already confused over Kyo's sudden reappearance, and then his crazed ravings. To have Akito suddenly pop up was a total unnecessary drain on his day.

The door opened and everyone in the room could hear Akito's voice.

"Ah, Yuki! So nice of you to greet me!"

"It's nice to see you to, Akito-san."

Shigure walked out of the room, realizing that he had better make an appearance sooner rather than later.

Tohru looked worriedly after Shigure, then turned her attention back to Kyo. Her eyes widened slightly and she started to rub Kyo's back furiously.

"Kyo-kun? Kyo-kun! Kyo-kun what's wrong?!"

Kyo had gone into shock, or at least, that's what it seemed like. His eyes were open wide and he was staring blankly at the wall ahead of him. His mouth was slightly agape, and complete stillness over took him.

He knew that voice. It was the voice of someone whom he hadn't heard from in over six years. Someone whom he thought was dead. No, someone who _was _dead, he had watched her die.

_There's no way...there's no possible way...absolutely no way...no...no no no! It CAN'T be her, it just CAN'T! I watched her die, she's dead! The curse is b-broken...everything everyone was saying isn't true...it's all a lie..._

_Then why does everyone look younger?_

Kyo pondered this sudden realization for a moment.

_Th-that's right... everyone looks way younger... they look...they look like they did when I was still in high school. But... but that's impossible...! There's no way that -_

Kyo let out a small gasp as suddenly everything he had forgotten came back to him.

"Kyoko."

Tohru's eyes widened at the sudden use of her mother's name.

"K-Kyo-kun?"

_Kyoko... she... I woke up and... sheesh... she spoke through Miki... I...I remember... I was never here, I mean there...! I was here then there... I went to sleep and woke up with Tohru beside me...I forgot... could...could it have been just a dream?_

Kyo shook his head, quickly discarding the thought.

_No, no of course not. It wasn't a dream... but then... why did I go there? _

A voice whispered in the back of his head.

_Kyoko_

_Kyoko... that's...that's right! Kyoko said I had to make a choice and if I made the right choice, everything I was experiencing now would - I mean experiencing then would become reality! But then... what choice was it? Is it already past the point I can make it...? No... why would I be sent back to make a choice that was already too late to be made? What...what choice is it the-_

"Kyo...? Kyo's back? Why, I would like to see him then. Immediately."

Kyo was brought out of his musings when Akito had said his name. The young man's head snapped up, and Kyo suddenly realized that Tohru was shaking him.

"Kyo-kun! Please! Akito-san want's to see you! Can you stand up?"

Kyo turned his head towards her, and all of a sudden a rush of emotions hit him all at once. He was happy, ecstatic, upset, and confused with Tohru. He wanted to get mad at her for playing such a stupid trick on him, but on the other hand he knew that it wasn't a trick at all. He wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss her, but he also knew that they hadn't told each other that they were in love yet. He wanted to hurl question's at her about their children and what had happened since he collapsed, but he figured that it would be awkward considering they weren't married yet. Or even _had _children for that matter.

Tohru looked at Kyo, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Kyo-kun...? Are you-."

"Tohru!"

Tohru jumped.

"Y-yes?"

"Tohru I-."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and Kyo and Tohru both looked up to see Shigure standing in the doorway, his smile still on but most evidently not genuine.

"Akito want's to see you Kyo-kun. But he won't come up of course. He want's you to meet him downstairs in the kitchen."

Right away Kyo felt the urge to stand up and walk to where Shigure had told him to go. Though while the feeling of having to obey Akito's orders felt familiar, Kyo couldn't help but feel as though it hadn't touched him in years. It almost felt...foreign...

Kyo stared at Shigure, but finally sighed and stood up. But when he got to his feet, he could feel himself wobble, then crash to the floor. Pain shot up his legs, and Kyo's eyes widened at the familiar feeling of the after effects of his condition.

His _medical_ condition, which wasn't supposed to present itself until he turned twenty one.

"_KYO-KUN!_ Are you okay? Oh I'm s-so sorry, are you alright?" Said Tohru, reaching down to grab his arm.

"I should have known you wouldn't be able to stand! I - I-."

Without thinking Kyo said,

"It's fine Tohru. We know what happens when I forget. I just cant believe I forgot again."

Tohru stared with wide eyes, not having a clue as to what he was talking about.

Kyo though, did not realize this, and taking a deep breath, he readied himself for another attempt at standing.

Putting his hands on his knees, Kyo carefully eased himself into a standing position. He could feel his legs weakening, but before he could fall he felt two hands grab his arm and steady him. Kyo looked up to see Shigure looking at him, though for once Kyo could not discern what he was thinking.

"Thanks..."

Kyo finally managed to steady himself, and with the help of Shigure, managed to walk down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Akito was waiting.

Akito remained impassive as Shigure set Kyo down on the ground by the table, not giving any looks or saying anything in regards to his being unable to walk unaided. Instead she remained as angry as usual, and dismissed Shigure with a wave of her hand and a quick,

"Leave."

Shigure did just that, but not without a quick, furtive glance at Kyo.

When he was gone, Akito spoke.

"How are you today, Kyo? Are you feeling well?"

Akito put on a small, false smile, making it seem as though they were simply having a conversation over coffee.

Kyo looked up at Akito, though instead of the usual defiant appearance he would always have when talking to the head of the house, he kept his face emotionless.

"I've come down with an illness, and would usually be in bed at the moment. But since you called for me, I decided I had best get up. Something a doctor wouldn't recommend."

Akito stared at Kyo, taken slightly aback by his change in attitude and demeanor. She quickly dropped the act of being nice and harshly said,

"I felt you had returned to me, so I had Hatori bring me here. Where have you been?! What were you doing?! I demand you to tell me!"

Kyo stared at Akito, and after a few minutes the woman began to feel at unease, something that usually no one could do.

"Tell me! Now!"

Kyo blinked, then said,

"I was no where in particular, Akito-san. I was simply enjoying my life."

"_Enjoying__** your **_life?" Akito glared at Kyo in such a way that made the young man cringe slightly.

"_You_ have no life to enjoy! As soon as you graduate, you will be locked away in that room that is meant for one line of creatures, and one line of creatures only. You monstrous _cat's._"

The old defiance that Kyo had once had suddenly rose up into his throat, ready to yell at Akito, and tell her that he would beat Yuki, and that he wouldn't live in the Cat House. But on the night that Kyoko took Kyo from his life, and placed him in a new one, Kyo had aged beyond his years, and maturity that wasn't supposed to come to him until he was twenty four, was now with him at the age of eighteen.

Kyo put weight onto his legs, and leaned against the wall. Bit by bit, he managed to raise himself to his feet. He could feel the pain shooting up and down his legs, screaming at him to stop, and his head began to throb, and his vision began to waver, but he forced himself to stay awake.

_-Flashback_-

'_**I wont fight it.'**_

_**Kyo thought to himself as he stumbled into Shigure's house. Everyone was asleep by now, including Tohru.**_

'_**I wont fight it. I 'll just go along quietly. I wont make a fool of myself, like I've done before.'**_

_-End Flashback_-

He was sick of Akito constantly giving him orders, he was sick of her being able to control his and everyone else's life and get away with it. He was sick of turning into a cat whenever he was hugged by a girl, and he was sick of having to wear his beads in order to stay human. But what made him sick the most, was having the thought of never being able to have a future with Tohru and their children. The future that he had already lived.

Akito saw the pained look in Kyo's eyes, and mistaking it as emotional hurt, smiled, triumphant.

"You're not worth living on the outside, Kyo. Nobody wants you, and you would never be truly happy. Your life is pointless. Your only purpose is to be locked up, so that you will never hurt anyone again. You've already hurt far too many in the past, don't you agree?"

Akito smiled slyly, thinking that she had finally caught her prey at last - finally had broke him from his defiant nature.

Isn't it funny how perfectly _wrong _someone can be?

Silence overtook the room, and after a moment the sound of the door sliding open could be heard, though neither Akito nor Kyo heard it. Their eyes remained on each other.

Akito took a few steps forward, and Kyo continued to stare at her with an expressionless face. Akito ignored this and said,

"Come, Kyo. Didn't you once tell me that you knew that you were worthless? Well if you know that, then I think it's time you go to where you should have gone a long time ago. I guess it must take time to learn and realize these things, hmm?"

Akito lifted her hand, and reached for Kyo's shoulder. Though this time, she didn't make it.

Kyo's hand flew up to meet Akito's, and he grasped it tightly. He pushed her arm away from his body, but did not let go. Akito was shocked at first, but her shock quickly turned to rage as her face contorted into that of fury. She tried to wrench her arm away, but did not succeed.

"YOU FILTHY MONSTER! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ME! LET GO OF ME THIS INSTANT! I _DEMAND_ IT! LET **GO **OF ME!!"

Kyo didn't let go though. No matter how much the curse pulled at him to obey the orders, he fought back with all he had. He wasn't going to obey her. Not now, not ever again.

"Your right, Akito."

Akito stopped struggling, and Kyo released her arm, letting it drop to her side. A smile crept onto her face as she looked at Kyo.

"See? I told you that you were worthless. Though that little act you just pulled wont help you at all. Go to the car. You wont need anything other than your filthy self."

Kyo lifted his face and looked into Akito's eyes.

"I said you were right, but not about that."

Akito's eyes widened.

"How dar-."

But Kyo cut her off.

"You're right about this: It takes time to learn and realize things that we should have realized long ago. But see, what I have learned is that I'm not worthless. You got me to believe that I was a long time ago. You also got me to believe that the only way I _would_ be worth something was if I defeated Yuki. But while I was gone, I wasn't simply enjoying my life. I was also learning something. I was learning that my life was worth living."

Akito stared at Kyo, her mouth opened and her eyes wide.

Kyo continued,

"If I was alone in this world - completely alone - _then, _maybe _then_, I would begin to think that my life wasn't worth living. But that's not the case. It was never the case. I thought it was, but it wasn't. I was just too blind to see the truth."

It was then that Akito got her speech back.

"And what is the truth?"

At this, Kyo couldn't help but smile, destroying whatever hope Akito had left of breaking him.

"The truth, is that as long as someone loves you, you can never be worthless. In fact, it makes you worth more than the largest treasure any human can ever find. It makes you worth more than anything."

Akito was speechless. She hadn't a clue as how to respond to all that Kyo had said. But Kyo wasn't done.

"I'm not worthless, Akito-san. And neither are you. At first I had decided that I would go along peacefully with you to the Cat Room. I had decided to give up - to not make a fool of myself anymore. But you see, I've finally made my choice. I'm not going with you, Akito. I'm gonna fight till I cant fight any more. I choose to live, Akito-san."

And with that, all hell broke loose.

- - -

And with that, chapter 9 is completed.

Whoo boy! That was an awful long wait, and I apologize sincerely for it. The whole summer holiday's thing got me distracted, but I made myself finish this before the new school year started.

Um... so how did you like it? This was my climax, so I tried to word it best I could. Though I have to say, some of the things Kyo said are causing conflicts in my mind, so if you start to conflict anything that Kyo said - don't worry, I already caught it. But I don't really want to re-word it, cause then he would be monologing, and that's never good...

So I hope this chapter was satisfactory. It should be longer, I know, but I really wanted to end it here. Plus I was going out to eat with my family, and they were waiting for me, so I had to really rush it, but I was almost done, so, yeah...

Please review!! Reviews are what keep me writing and continuing stories!

Now that I've reached my climax, it should be all down hill from here... you know, those little diagrams they make you draw in English class... the whole rising action, climax, falling action thing... er, yeah. Sorry. Shouldn't talk about that stuff yet.

Again, please review!!

Thanks so much for reading this and keeping with me for so long! You guys are great!!

- Sakoko-chan


	10. Chapter 10

**In The Company Of My Future**

Chapter Ten

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Natsuki Takaya owns it all!

**Warnings:** There_ is_ a spoiler if you haven't read Volume 17 of the manga. **You have been warned!!**

Chapter Ten

- - -

At first, the pain was minor. He could handle it. It was fine. If this was what it took to be free, so be it. He would survive.

But the pain escalated. Kyo squeezed his eyes shut and grasped his head in his hands in an effort to block the tears that were about to overflow onto his face. It felt like someone was taking a searing hot piece of metal and pressing it against his skin. After what seemed like a lifetime, Kyo finally couldn't hold it back anymore - he screamed.

Though unbeknownst to him, there were others screaming along with him.

At first Shigure, Yuki, Tohru and Hatori stood watching helplessly as Kyo went from fine and defiant to powerless and screaming. Tohru's eyes were filled with tears and her hands covered her mouth in a silent scream. Yuki watched with his wide eyes, but suddenly they squeezed shut and he keeled over and began yelling out in pain. Shigure went next - then Hatori.

Tohru didn't know what to do, she was in a panic. Her eyes darted from Kyo to Yuki to Shigure and to Hatori, all whom were shouting and screaming from an attacker that she couldn't see. She didn't know what to do, or how to help. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to do.

- - -

Kyo's journey returning to the conscious world was a slow and painful one. At first, all he could hear was an ever increasing humming in his ears, as though all the noises in a crowded room had come together to create one big uproar. Then came the light. At first when he to open his eyes, he was met with a blinding flash, causing him to quickly abandon the idea of opening his lids. He tried a few more times, and thankfully the light began to die down. He wasn't sure at all where he was. Was it morning? Was he in bed with Tohru? Had he fallen asleep again while putting Sakura to bed? Had he been in a car accident on his way to work?

Bit by bit his memory began to come back. He wasn't at home any more, he was in the past - he was seventeen again. Slowly his senses returned fully to him, though they were greatly dulled.

"Tohru...?"

- - -

Tohru had been terrified when all the Sohma men had fallen down in fits of screaming fury. All her friends, no, her _family _were in pain, and she could do nothing to help. For a moment, all she could do was stare, and hope that everything would stop - that everyone would wake up and say it was all a joke, that they had been kidding. They weren't ever in any pain, they were teasing her.

But then something caught her eye. In the midst of all this turmoil, someone was getting up.

Akito.

Understandingly, Tohru had forgotten all about the instigator of this - the one who had been the disgusting, super glue that had held all the zodiac bonds together. She was getting up, and Tohru could see that she was obviously as terrified as herself. Her eyes were wide and crazed, and completely focussed on the one who was before her - Kyo.

Then suddenly, Akito ran. She ripped the door open and ran outside, making a turn and disappearing out of sight. Tohru stared after her, almost unsure if she had really left. But then something pulled her attention back.

"Tohru...?"

Tohru's head swung to the side to look at the person who had called her name. It was then that she realized that something was missing. The yelling. It had stopped.

"KYO!"

Tohru ran over to the boy and knelt down beside him. Without thinking she placed her hand on his pale, sweaty face, and pushed his hair aside.

"Tohru... where's Sakura...where's...Miki..."

Tohru choked out a sob. He still wasn't back to normal.

"Kyo-kun... Kyo-kun there _is _no Sakura or Miki...there's no such people..."

Kyo smiled and peered at her through his half closed eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I know...I just want to know if they're all right..."

Kyo's eyes shut and he leaned his head back, as though he were ready to fall asleep.

Tohru, scared, started shaking him.

"Kyo-kun! Kyo-kun!! Wake up, Kyo wake up! Please, don't-!"

Kyo's eyes groggily opened again, though it took a moment for them to focus on Tohru. When they did, he couldn't help but smile weakly.

"Hey..."

"Kyo please, stay with me, alright!?"

Suddenly Tohru thought of an idea.

"Stay awake Kyo-kun, please."

Tohru then stood up and ran to the fridge, where she took out a carton of milk. She then grabbed a towel from one of the hangers, and ran it under the cold tap in the sink.

"Kyo-kun, here..."

Tohru lifted the boys head up and pressed the carton to his lips, urging him to drink. She was desperately hoping it would wake him up more - make him more alert. She then took the milk away and placed Kyo's head gently back on the floor. After placing the cold, wet cloth on his forehead, she waited a few moments. But Kyo's eyes never reopened.

"Kyo-kun!! Kyo-kun wake up!! _**Kyo-kun!!!"**_

"Don't worry Tohru, he's just sleeping."

Tohru's head snapped up at the sudden and unexpected voice.

It was Hatori. He was leaning warily against the door frame, his right arm holding onto his side.

"Hatori-san! Ar-are you alright?"

Hatori nodded his head, then bent down over Shigure and checked his pulse. He did the same for Yuki.

"They appear to be just sleeping." Hatori said when he saw the worried look on Tohru's face. "And I'm sure Kyo is doing the same."

Tohru looked back down at the boy, watching as his chest raised and lowered. She wanted to be sure.

After a moment of silence, Tohru finally asked,

"What happened?"

A loud sigh emanated from Hatori. He walked over to the small table and sat down, folding his legs.

"The curse was broken."

"...What..?"

"The cat...of the Zodiac, was always the monster. He, or she, like all of us, has-...had, a bond with the god of the Zodiac... the leader."

"But I thought that the cat wasn't apart of the zodiac."

Hatori put his head in his hands and leaned on the table.

"But he was still apart of the story - the legend. He was still apart of us and the bond. You see, ever since this curse began, the cat had to bow down to the god. He had to obey him, like all of us had to. And that meant that he had to go to the cat house whenever he was told to. That was his punishment, for being the cat. The cat always has to submit. The curse forced it to."

For a moment it was silent in the room. Only the sound of the three men's breathing was heard.

Tohru spoke,

"But then Kyo-kun broke it, right? He didn't...he didn't bow down to Akito-san."

"That's right. But you see, I have no idea how he did it. I'm sure that many cat's in the past have tried to defy their fate, tried to run away from it. But they never could. No matter what, their fate had always been forced upon them. It's the same with the rest of us in the zodiac. Whenever Akito issues a direct order, we can't help but feel the upmost needto obey."

Tohru remained silent, thinking over what she had heard.

Then suddenly, there was a crash.

- - -

After this whole breaking of the curse situation died down, Kyo would realize just how much he enjoyed sleeping. Not because he would get lethargic or anything, or simply because he was lazy, but because it was a nice re-boost on energy levels. When you worked out a lot during the week, and you went to school and suffered over assignments and exams, or if you were busy breaking the hold of an age old curse, you got tired, your body would need a break. And so Kyo tried his best in the future to get his full nights sleep when he could. However once Sakura and Miki were born, a full nights sleep became impossible.

So when Kyo finally woke up, he couldn't help but groan in frustration and roll over to go back to sleep.

Though life, of course, is never that easy.

It took him a moment, but Kyo finally realized what had woken him up. It had been a loud clashing noise, like broken glass falling on the floor.

Kyo groggily sat up and looked around. He noticed Yuki and Shigure lying down by the door - obviously sleeping. But why would they be sleeping in the middle of the doorway? Kyo couldn't help but think of that as a bit odd, even for them. Kyo rose shakily to his feet and looked around some more. No one else was in here. Kyo had a vague feeling that he should be look for someone in particular. Oh that's right, Tohru, Sakura and Miki. His family. He should be looking for them. So finally realizing his purpose, Kyo stepped over Yuki and Shigure and headed towards the door that led outside. But as he stepped over the two men, he immediately stopped. The door was broken apart, and glass from a few windows in the living room had been broken. But most surprisingly of all, Hatori was lying down in the midst of it all. Kyo didn't know what to do at first, but eventually it hit him that maybe he should check to see if the doctor was alright. So Kyo walked over to the man, knelt down, and felt his pulse. He was breathing, and as far as Kyo could tell, his heart rate was normal. It wasn't too fast, and it wasn't too slow. Though something seemed different about him, something that Kyo couldn't place. But the feeling of having to find his family began to prod him again, and Kyo got up and went outside.

Everything was too odd. No one should have been lying on the floor, unconscious. Heck, lying on the floor sleeping in the middle of the day was weird. But what was slightly more weird, was that Tohru wasn't there. Tohru was usually always near the people who had been hurt in the Sohma family. She was like a mother and sister to them all, taking care of them, listening to them, even hugging them when she wasn't supposed to. All in an effort to make their lives a little less harder than it was. And magically, she was always everywhere at the right time. So why wasn't she here? Where could she possibly be? She had to be somewhere...

Kyo ran over to the broken door and stepped outside, the need to find Tohru and know she was safe rising more and more.

"Tohru? Tohru!!" Kyo yelled.

There was no answer.

"Tohru!!"

Kyo suddenly began to think that maybe she was at one of her friends house. He ran back inside, picked up the phone, and searched for Uotani's number. When he found it, he quickly called.

"Yeah?" Uotani's voice resounded throughout the earpiece.

"Uotani! Is Tohru with you!?"

"Huh? Who is this?"

"Is TOHRU there!?!"

"Orange top? That you? What are you doing?"

"TOHRU!! Is she _there?!?!"_

"What? No, she's not, but what's that-."

Kyo hung up the phone and dialed Hana's.

"Kyo Sohma?"

The calmness of Hana's voice somehow managed to calm Kyo's nerves. Maybe Tohru was here."

"Hey! Stop doing that! It's creepy!"

"I have caller ID."

"Oh... well, hey, is Tohru with you?"

"Tohru-chan?"

"Yeah."

"No, she is not. Something's wrong, isn't it?"

Kyo couldn't speak. The fear that had momentarily receded when Hana's voice came on the line came back in full force. Kyo could feel his heartbeat loudly in his chest, as though it were trying to escape from the binding forces of his body and fly to where Tohru was.

"Kyo?"

"I...I can't find her."

Kyo dropped the phone and ran outside, yelling Tohru's name.

- - -

Hana stared blankly at the wall before her as she listened to the distant sound of Kyo desperately calling Tohru's name. She knew she would never get him back on, and so hung up her phone. She knew something was terribly wrong, she had never before felt such nefarious waves coming from so many places at once. They were the same waves that she always felt when around any of the Sohma's, except now it was greatly multiplied, and ten times more dreadful.

She knew what she had to do.

She had to help save Tohru, even if that meant passing boundaries she had sworn never to cross again.

She was going to kill.

- - -

A/n

Kyo's pretty out of it, so that's why it doesn't particularly affect him that Yuki, Hatori, and Shigure are all unconscious. Normally he would be like, "What the hecks going on?!" but right now he's just "Oh, they're unconscious? That's nice." And he's lost his short term memory momentarily, so he has no clue about the breaking of the curse, or rather, breaking it. He's starting to get his wits about him though, and he's made the necessary calls to Tohru's friends to find if she was there.

We're coming up to the finale, folks! Hehe, I said folks...

Thank you all for your kind reviews, and for sticking with me for nine chapters! Please stay with me to the end, and KEEP REVIEWING! That's how I know you guys want more, see? I love you ALL! hands out candies. ThAnK YoU!!!

Love, Your Author,

Sakoko-chan

P/S I promise that the next chapter will be longer!


	11. Chapter 11

**In The Company Of My Future**

Chapter Eleven

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Natsuki Takaya owns it all!

**Warning!** There_ ARE_ spoilers if you haven't read up to Volume 17 of the manga. **You have been warned!!**

Chapter Eleven

- - -

The crash had been frightening to say the very least. Tohru had no idea where it had come from, but wouldn't have to wait long to find out. Hatori had immediately stood up, looking for the source of the sound. Tohru unconsciously clutched tighter to Kyo, whom she noticed was beginning to stir. She watched fearfully as Hatori stood up and walked out towards the door. He vanished momentarily, and Tohru waited for him to say everything was alright, but he didn't. After a few minutes there was a thud, and Tohru's senses went on full alert. She stood up, letting go of Kyo's hand, her whole body rigid. She took a few, tentative steps towards the kitchen door, then peered around the side.

"HATORI-SAN!!" Tohru yelled.

The girl ran towards the older man who was lying unconscious on the ground, broken glass showered all around him and the living room. As Tohru leaned down to see if the older man was alright, everything suddenly went black.

It was pitch black. Tohru couldn't see or hear a thing.

"HATORI-SAN!" She screamed. "KYO-KUN!!! YUKI-SAN, SHIGURE-SAN!!!"

Tohru screamed, but nothing changed. Everything remained black. Tohru was scared beyond belief. Her heart was pounding in her chest, as though it were shrieking to be released and go somewhere safe. Somewhere to Kyo.

It remained this way for hours. The only thing that kept Tohru sane was the small watch that Kyo had bought her for her last birthday. It was small and delicate, and definitely made for a young woman. She had treasured it deeply since she had received it, but it was now that she had never been more thankful for getting it. It let her know that time was still moving, that the world was still turning...that this place was real, and not a dream.

Then after five hours had passed, a voice came.

Tohru had been dosing in and out of unconsciousness, and her mind had wandered from the mornings breakfast, to her secret love for Kyo, to her friends, and to her mother. When the voice came, she had almost not realized it was even there.

"Hello."

Tohru's eyes snapped open, and her drowsiness disappeared. She stood up and looked around.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Are you having fun, Tohru-chan?"

The voice was a male, but it was no one Tohru had ever heard before. It was deep, so Tohru knew that she wasn't dealing with someone young. This man was old, very old.

"Wh-who is this? Where am I? Why am I here?"

The voice chuckled.

"So many questions Tohru-chan! Do you really want me to answer them all?"

Tohru didn't know what to say. Finally she managed a small,

"Yes."

"Your within me, Tohru-chan. And you're here, because I brought you here."

The voice was intense and profound, and it resounded throughout the barren darkness that he had revealed to be himself.

Tohru remained silent, thinking over what the voice had said. Finally she asked,

"But _why _did you bring me here?"

The voice didn't reply. At least, not at first. Seconds passed, then those seconds turned into minutes. Tohru looked at her watch, only to realize that it had stopped. Panic rose within her chest - her lifeline was gone.

Finally after what seemed like an hour, the voice spoke.

"I brought you here, Tohru-chan, to teach you that some bonds, cannot be broken. No matter how hard you, or someone else, tries."

Tohru was confused. What was he talking about?

"What do you mean? What bonds...?"

But the voice was gone. Tohru could tell that he wouldn't reply back., and so she sat back down on the ground. She didn't know when she would get out. She didn't know why she was here. And she didn't know who this person was. Tohru glanced automatically at her watch, her mind quickly telling her that it was broken. However when she looked at it, she found that it was working once again. Tohru sighed and closed her eyes.

_Please find me, Kyo_

_- - -_

Too fast. Everything was happening too fast. And yet it wasn't going fast enough.

Kyo ran through the streets, searching desperately. What for, exactly? He didn't know. All he knew was that he couldn't find Tohru, and that because of it, she was in grave danger. He knew it was because of him, but he couldn't say exactly why. People pushed past him, hitting him, bumping into him. Kyo knew he should be fearful of this, fearful not of them, but of turning into a cat. But it didn't click in his mind that he should be worried, and it wouldn't click, until he ran into a very certain someone.

- - -

Hana didn't know about the Sohma curse, but she had always had her suspicions when it came to that family and their oddities. She may have seemed to be a very dull, in-sociable person who was more preoccupied with herself and her own problems than with anyone else's, but reality was quite the contrary. She was in fact, an extremely observant person. She could tell much about a person's true personality, and sometimes those personalities were quite contrary to what was portrayed before their peers. It was like this with the Sohma's as well. She knew that even though Kyo could be a brash and angry person to everyone else, his real personality was not like that. He could be kind, caring, and loving, when allowed to show it privately. She also knew that Yuki had more secrets than an unopened garbage bag, and that he didn't always want to be kind to others - she saw that flaw right away when it came to him and Kyo.

So after much observing of the Sohma men and women, Hana had determined that nobody were what they made themselves out to be, and that they all held a secret, a secret that Tohru knew. She could tell Tohru knew, because of the way everyone acted around her, against how they acted around everyone else. When you have an intimate relationship with someone to the point of your telling much of your secrets to them, it is easily recognizable to others.

Hana hastened out of her house, throwing her cloak around her shoulders. She was worried about Tohru. She knew something was wrong, and she knew that if she or someone else didn't find Tohru soon, matters would take a dive for the worse in a matter of seconds.

Nearing a running speed, Hana sped along quickly among the sidewalks, making her way to Sohma Shigure's house. As she ran, she suddenly felt the waves of Kyo come near her. She slowed down and looked around, searching for the young man. Her head turned to the left, then it turned to the right. Saki started to walk, but was suddenly stopped as her face met that of a man's chest.

- - -

Kyo was running now, dodging the other pedestrians, and twisting his body to skilfully move past those who were coming towards him. Of course, much of the time he couldn't help but bump into people, but for the most part, he hadn't knocked anyone over.

Then suddenly, Kyo slammed into another person - one who, for some reason, wasn't moving. The person crashed to the ground, and Kyo tripped over them, nearly falling himself. A bunch of people moved out of the way quickly, surprised at the unexpected crash. Many quickly continued walking after seeing no one dead, but a few loitered for a few more moments, unsure of whether to help or not.

"Hana?"

Saki looked up from the ground, only to see the agitated and worry filled face of Kyo Sohma.

"Sohma Kyo! I found you."

Kyo stared at her for a second, breathing heavily. He then swiftly reached down his hand to help her up. But as he helped the girl to his feet, he was hit with the sudden realization that something was missing. No, rather something was wrong. Very wrong.

_The curse_

He thought as he stared at Saki with wide eyes.

_I didn't - I mean, I'm supposed to change...I crashed into her, I should be a cat right now. The Sohma secret should be exposed because of me. But why..._

Kyo took a step backwards, and person bumped into him, pushing him back. He stared after that person, his eyes wide as he was suddenly aware of where he was and what he had been doing. Hana looked at him with faint curiosity. She watched as Kyo looked around, his old worry replaced with a new. After a few moments he stopped looking, and settled his eyes on Hana. Hana stared back, not exactly certain of what she should do. Finally she spoke up, bringing them both back to the matter at hand.

"Tohru. Where is she?" She asked.

Kyo's eyes widened again and he swore under his breath.

"Tohru's gone and I don't have a clue as to where she is! I woke up and she wouldn't answer back, so I called you and Uotani but neither of you had her so I came out here..." Kyo's voice was fast and strong. He knew that the situation was serious, though how he knew, he could not tell. He realized that normally he would take it in stride, and think her to be with some of the other Sohma's or with people from school. However when he awoke on the kitchen floor, a dread like no other filled him completely - and he knew that if he didn't find Tohru quick, life would take an unexpected and drastic turn for the worse.

However he couldn't exactly say this all to Hana. He knew how stupid he would sound, and how foolish she would think him. So he let it rest after he told her that Tohru had disappeared. He left out the fact that she, and most likely himself, were going to die.

"Tohru's in danger." Hana said seriously. "I think I know where she may be, but we should go back to your house first. Where is Yuki Sohma?"

Kyo's thoughts were suddenly flown back to the other members of his household. Yuki and Shigure...that's right! Where were they? Had they been there the entire time and he just hadn't seen them? Or were they with Tohru?

"Yuki...he's...he's at home, I think."

"Let us go there first then."

Hana grabbed Kyo's hand and took the lead as they walked down the street. Now usually Kyo would have been very embarrassed, and he would have ripped his hand back, but for some reason he couldn't think properly, much less walk to a destination accurately. So for the moment, he was glad to have someone leading him themselves.

The two arrived shortly at Shigure's house, and when they did arrive, Hana couldn't help but notice that some things were amiss. Firstly, the window to the living room was broken through. Secondly, the door was broken and hanging off it's hinges. And thirdly, she could see feet facing upwards in the doorway.

"Kyo Sohma, what happened here?" She asked as the two of them stood in the doorway.

Kyo frowned at what lay before him. Had Shigure, Yuki, and Hatori always been there? He couldn't remember seeing them before. The broken window however did seem familiar, and he could vaguely remember stepping over a person or two to get out of the house.

"I...don't know. I think...I think I woke up to this."

"You think?"

Kyo stepped over Hatori, who was closest to him, and walked further into the house. He looked around, and could see now that not only was the window broken, but the television as well. The chair's were ripped up, and glass lay imbedded in the walls.

"It looks like a windstorm ripped through here..." Kyo muttered to himself as he walked towards the kitchen.

He glanced down to see Yuki and Shigure both laying on the floor, unconscious. It was then that he realized that they could very well be dead. Kyo quickly knelt down and checked their necks for a pulse.

"Hana, check Hatori." Kyo said.

As the time continued to pass, more and more of Kyo's twenty four year old maturity quickly came back to him. He couldn't help but take charge of the situation, and see if he could possibly assess what had happened.

After a moment Hana spoke softly,

"He's alive."

Kyo could feel the pulses of both Shigure and Yuki, so he stood back up. Looking around, he tried to find any evidence of a theft. As he looked, a shiver ran down his spine, and his whole body shook with cold. Looking up, he realized that there was a draft. Automatically looking to the sliding door, he saw that it was indeed open. He walked over to it, and placed his hand softly on the handle. A feeling of dread suddenly washed through him, and his hand snapped back as if burned. Kyo stared at his hand, which looked perfectly fine, then he looked at the handle. Both seemed normal, but when he touched it... it seemed as though a feeling he had kept dormant for years had suddenly sprung up again. It felt like-.

"Kyo-san?"

Kyo was lurched out of thought's and brought back to reality. He turned his head and looked at Hana.

"Someone was here." He said quietly, turning back to look once again at the door handle.

Hana was slightly shocked, to say the least. The Kyo Sohma that stood before her didn't act at all like the Kyo Sohma she knew. This Kyo seemed calm, serious, and mature. He was someone who was looking at the situation fully, and not brashly. This Kyo was different. This Kyo was changed.

"Who?" Hana inquired, walking over to the young man. "I can feel strange vibes here...they're not good. They are like your own, but different some how."

Hana focussed on the air around her, trying to divulge more secrets from the vibes and waves.

"...What else to you feel?"

It was then that Hana realized that she had closed her eyes, and had been silent in thought. She looked at Kyo, who was looking back at her with rigid eyes.

"I feel...waves of authority."

It was then that Kyo realized who had been here. It was then that he realized who had touched the handle door, and who had caused this wreckage to the house and it's inhabitants. It was then that he realized who had taken Tohru.

"Akito."

Hana's eyes were brought up to Kyo's, showing the surprise that she most evidently felt.

"Who?"

"Akito Sohma." Kyo said as he turned and walked out of the house through the door. "She's the head of our family. She was the one who did this."

Hana followed quickly after the young man, further enquiries escaping her lips.

"Akito Sohma is the head of your family? But she is a woman."

"That she is."

Nothing more was said after that. Kyo led Hana into the woods, and Hana had no choice but to blindly walk behind him, trusting that he knew what he was doing and where he was going. As they walked, she could feel the waves that she had felt before - the waves that she had now learned belonged to Akito Sohma. They were becoming more and more distinguished with every step, and a sense of dread began to fill her. She looked up every few moments to see how Kyo was faring. But every time she did look up, she was only met with the same, dangerous and serious eyes that the young man was holding. The young woman he loved had been taken from him, and he wasn't going to fool around in trying to get her back. He was on a mission, and intended to succeed.

- - -

Tohru could hear something - it was faint, but it was most definitely there.

Footsteps. There were footsteps coming towards her. They were walking on leaves and pinecone's of the forest, right to where she was.

But, _where _was she?

After a moment of listening, she realized that she should be calling out for help, that maybe those who were walking could hear her.

"Help!!"

Tohru's voice was scratchy and dull from being unused, and took her a moment to gather up her voice to shout again.

"HELP! Is anyone out there?"

...Silence.

"Help me! HELP ME!! I'm trapped, and I don't know where I am! I cant see! Everything is black!"

"Help me, help me!"

Tohru's head snapped up, and she tried to look around. That voice hadn't been hers.

Tohru wasn't scared any more. She was past scared. She wanted out, she wanted to go home.

"Wh-where are you? Show your s-self!"

The dark, deep voice, that had been terrorizing her for the past who knows how long, laughed.

"Tohru-chan! You're so brash and angry! Not picking up unattractive traits from our dear Kyo, are we?"

Tohru's heart ached at the sound of that name, but she quickly tried to cover up her momentary weakness.

"Let me go! Why do you want me?"

The voice didn't speak back.

Tohru choked out a sob.

"L-let me go! I want to go!"

All that she heard was the sound of the deep, maniacal laughter of her mystery captor. But then suddenly he stopped. Tohru's ears perked up, and she listened intently for the rest of his laughter. But it never came. Then all of a sudden, the man's voice yelled out in anger. No audible words were spoken, but the man was obviously enraged over something.

Tohru blinked, then shut her eyes as the bright sun light shone over her face. Warmth filled her body, and the sun quickly went to work in warming her skin. She blinked a few more times, then managed to open her eyes to look around her. She was in a forest. She looked up and saw the canopy of trees folding over her like a blanket. She stayed looking up, as she was so shocked at the sudden arrival of sight and scenery. Though her moment of silence was quickly disrupted at the sound of a deep, but kind, young man's voice.

"Tohru...!"

Tohru looked down, and her eyes widened at the sight before her. Her heart ached once more.

"Kyo-kun..."

- - -

End Chapter 11

Earlier in the chapter I mentioned that the forest had a floor of leaves and pinecone's. Thing is, I'm not sure if Japan has pine trees, which make the pine cones. So there's a wrong fact for you, just so you know (grins).

Well I really hoped you liked this chapter. More will come, and to be honest, I can't give an exact number of chapters that are to come (like I have before). However the ending is amongst us, and the story will come to...er, an end. Soon.

Thank you ALL for your reviews last chapter! It means such a lot to me when you guys leave such wonderfully kind reviews for me! So** THANK YOU!!**

But please continue to review! As always, **your reviews show me** that there is a continued want for the story, and thus I will be motivated to continue and write more chapters.

So once again, thank you all! I hoped you enjoyed chapter eleven!

Sincerely,

Sakoko-chan

The Christmas season is upon us! So...

Don't take the 'Christ' out of Christmas!


	12. Chapter 12

**In The Company Of My Future**

Chapter Twelve

By: Sakoko-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Natsuki Takaya owns it all!

**Warning!** There_ ARE_ spoilers if you haven't read up to Volume 17 of the manga. **You have been warned!!**

OOC, because of character development of my own doing.

Chapter Twelve

- - -

The first thing Yuki noticed was the quiet. Why was it so quiet? What was going on? The last thing he remembered was...was...

_What happened?_

Yuki's thoughts were completely askew. He sat up slowly, and rubbed his head where it was throbbing painfully. Opening his eyes, he took his first look around.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

Shigure and Hatori were out cold, and covered with bits of glass. The living room was a complete mess - the window's were all broken, the furniture were torn to bits, and the television looked as though it had just spent its last day.

"Wh-what the heck - ." Yuki asked out loud.

Quickly standing to his feet and gaining his footing, Yuki turned and looked into the kitchen. The kitchen thankfully was alright - relatively. The dishes and cups were strewn across the table and floor, but luckily nothing was broken. The door leading outside was wide open, letting in a cold breeze. Yuki unconsciously walked over to it and closed it - then froze.

Something was missing. Something really important was missing. No, not really important - _extremely _important. But what was it?

Yuki searched his brain, thinking over ever possibility as to what the thing was. Did he leave something? No, where would he have left it? The school? No... he always had everything packed before the last class... was something in his room? At a friends?

_I should retrace my steps, then maybe I'll -_

Turning around in a rush, Yuki suddenly crashed into someone else, knocking them over.

"AH! I'm sorry! I - ."

Yuki stopped. Sitting on the floor with an angry face was Arisa Uotani. Arisa. Tohru's friend. A girl.

"U-Uotani-san!"

"Hey! What the heck was that for?"

Yuki's eyes were wide and confused. He had bumped into Arisa... a_ girl._ He had bumped - no, _crashed_ into a girl. A female. He should be a rat right now. He should be an animal, not a human. He should have transformed... but he hadn't.

"Well? Are you just gonna stare and gape, or are you gonna help me up?" Asked Uotani in an annoyed voice.

"O-oh! Um, yeah, sorry..."

Yuki offered his hand and helped the girl up.

Uotani gave Yuki a weird look before brushing herself off.

"Sheesh! It looks like a typhoon went through here! What the heck happened, Prince?"

Yuki looked around the room and into the hallway, his thoughts diverted.

"I don't know. I woke up and it was like this."

"You woke up? Why the heck were you sleeping in the first place?"

Yuki, still a little groggy, thought for a moment.

"I must have been knocked unconscious. I had been lying in the floor when I woke up."

Uotani didn't say anything. It was then that Yuki began to wonder why she was even here in the first place.

"Why are you here Uotani-san?" He asked.

Uo's head turned to him, a small frown on her face.

"Kyon called me earlier, and he was acting rather weird. I mean, weirder than normal. He was asking where Tohru was, and when I said she wasn't at my place, he hung up. I'd rather have forgotten about the call completely, except I can't help but be worried about Tohru. And after coming here and seeing the place like this, I'm beginning to think I had good reason to be worried. Unless... you've seen Tohru?"

"...No, I haven't. I haven't seen Kyo either."

Yuki was now officially perturbed . Their house had obviously been broken into, and now Tohru and Kyo were missing. The only reasonable solution to this was that either the two had escaped somewhere, or they had been captured. Now Yuki wasn't overly fond of Kyo, heck, he wasn't even fond of him. But he knew that the other boy could fight, and wouldn't get captured easily, so he should have been able to hold his own and protect Tohru. Or maybe he had been knocked out, like-.

Then suddenly something hit him. A realization. A recollection. A memory.

Kyo had fought with Akito. Kyo had screamed. He had screamed. Everyone was screaming...then...nothing.

"Prince?"

The feeling he had had before had felt like he was being torn in two. Like a part of him was being ripped from his being. It felt like torture...and yet, he now felt perfectly fine. But something was different. Something was...gone.

Arisa.

Yuki swung around and stared at Uotani with wide eyes.

He was free.

The curse was gone. That's what had happened. That's what had been ripped from him. The spirit of the rat. That's why he didn't transform when he crashed into Arisa.

It was gone.

Yuki was shocked beyond belief. The curse had been lifted, and he was now as normal as any other human being.

"Um, hello? Prince! YUKI!"

Yuki snapped out of his stupor and came back to reality.

"U-Uotani-san..."

"Geez! What's wrong with you? You're spacing out on me! Now where do you think Tohru and Kyon are? Who would want to break into your house? Got any ideas?"

_Yeah, I got one_

Yuki didn't know how he knew, he just...knew. Grabbing Arisa's hand in his own, he led her quickly out of the house.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Arisa yelled.

"I think I know where Tohru and Kyo are."

"Wh-what? How the heck do you kn-."

Yuki, starting to get irritated, cut her off.

"I just _do _alright? I don't know how I know, I just _know!_"

"Alright Prince...sheesh! What's wrong with you?"

Yuki remained silent and lead Arisa into the woods.

- - -

Tohru ran into Kyo's arms, not even realizing that she shouldn't have been doing so - especially in front of Hana. But as of the moment, she no longer cared. She was terrified, and wanted to be somewhere that was safe. So without a care in the world, Tohru wrapped her arms around Kyo and sobbed into his chest.

Kyo stared at Tohru for a moment, then wrapped his own arms around her. He could hear Tohru's sobs from amidst his shirt. A hand touched his shoulder, and Kyo looked up, startled.

Hana stood there, her face touched with sadness as she layed her hand on Tohru's head. Tohru looked up, and Kyo felt a pang of hurt when he saw the tears running down her face.

_She shouldn't be dealing with this _

Kyo thought to himself as he watched the two girls reunite.

_This should have been kept in the family... She shouldn't have gone through that_

"_**Hahahaha...**__ Oh, what a sweet, touching reunion of the kitty cat and his toy!"_

Kyo's head snapped up, and his eyes went wide. He turned his head around, tightening his hold on Tohru. Tohru looked up, uneasiness etched all over her face.

"Kyo...?"

"_I knew that cat's liked to play with their toys, but don't you think this is going a bit too far?"_

"Who are you?! Show yourself!"

Tohru's eyebrows narrowed, and she tugged at Kyo's shirt in an effort to grab his attention.

"Kyo, what are you saying? No one said any-."

"Sshh!"

Kyo covered Tohru's mouth with his hand, and it was then that Hana touched his arm.

"Kyo-san, where is the voice coming from?"

Kyo searched the trees, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice.

"_I'm over here little kitty... oh, but you're not a kitty any more, are you? You're a __**cat**__."_

The voice spat the word out as though it were a disgusting taste in his mouth.

Then everything went dark.

- - -

"Welcome, my feline friend."

A man sat on a large and ancient looking chair before him, surrounded by women and animals. They were in a house, but it wasn't a house Kyo had ever been in before. It looked like one from the history books - from an age long before his own. Back when Shogun's and Samurai's ruled the land. Kyo was kneeling before the man, his arms tied around his back and held by two other men.

Kyo looked around the room, gazing at the animals that were surrounding the man and looking at himself. There was only one of each species: a sheep, a boar, a tiger, a dog, a snake, a bird, a monkey, a cow, a horse, and a rabbit. A long, snake like dragon floated in the air and wound itself around its master, its narrow eyes staring emotionlessly at its visitor. Kyo looked around, trying to find the last of the twelve, when he suddenly felt a small touch on his exposed arm. Looking down he saw a small rat gazing up at him, and if Kyo didn't know any better, he would have thought that the rats eyes held pity.

"Do you like my friends? I see you've met them before."

Kyo glared at the man, having finally realized who he was. Finding his voice, he spoke, wanting to confirm his suspicions.

"You're the God of the Zodiac. The Master."

The man smiled politely and nodded his head.

"Why yes, you're right. I'm glad to see that you've figured it out so fast."

The man's voice held much sarcasm, and Kyo could hear it.

"Why am I here? What did you do to Tohru?!"

The man raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

"Tohru? Tohru Tohru... oh yes! That little girl I had quite some fun with a while back. Oh, I didn't do anything to her at all. Perhaps, maybe, it was _you _who did something to her, wouldn't you agree?"

Kyo struggled in his bonds as anger swelled up inside of him, but the two guards simply tightened their grip on his arms.

"Oh don't try to struggle little cat, you wont get free."

"Where am I?"

The man smiled, as though he had been expecting this question.

"You're with me, Kyo, and that's all you need to know. Now, would you like something to drink? I'm sure you're famished. It _has_ been a while since you last woke."

It was then that Kyo realized that he was indeed hungry and thirsty. His stomach felt like it hadn't been fed for days, and his dry throat was screaming at him to drink something. But he'd rather starve to death before taking something from this man.

The God of the Zodiac continued to stare at Kyo while he snapped his fingers. One of the two women that had stood on either side of him walked away into another room. In a moment she was back with a tray of a jug of water and two glasses. The God picked one of the glasses up and took a long drink. He tilted the cup back all the way to drain the last drop, then sighed as he put the cup down. He looked at Kyo, then took the second cup.

"Wouldn't you like some Kyo? It's wonderfully refreshing. And on such a hot day like this, you'll need it to keep your strength up."

Kyo gave the man the dirtiest look he could muster, wishing with all his being that the man would keel over and die.

The God noticed this, and shook his head.

"Oh Kyo... such defiance! Cat's are such odd creatures. One moment they're as calm as the gentle breeze of the wind, and the next they're as angry as the sea during a storm. Though there's no need to be defiant while here. I know all about you, and I know you're thirsty. So go on...drink."

One of the women took the cup from the God's hand and brought it over to Kyo. Kyo tightened his lips together, and glared at the woman. The woman simply smiled and put the cup to the young man's mouth, tilting it so that the water gently splashed against his chapped lips. From there Kyo couldn't help what he did, it was an instant reflex. His body no longer cared for what the brain was telling it, it needed water. And with water so close to his throat, how could he resist?

So Kyo unwillingly opened his mouth and let the woman pour the heavenly drink into his mouth. The liquid poured down his throat, quenching the horrendous thirst that had been plaguing him. Then suddenly it was gone. Kyo's eyes snapped open and he looked at the woman before him. The second woman appeared at his side and he saw that she was holding the pitcher of water. Kyo looked at it eagerly, not caring that he was giving in to the God of the zodiac. The second woman then put the pitcher to his lips, and the same process as before occurred. Finally when the pitcher was empty, Kyo was satisfied. The two women giggled, stood up and walked back to their master.

It was then that Kyo realized the God was laughing.

"Hahaha... oh Kyo, isn't it nice to have your thirst quenched? And by such two lovely ladies as well." He looked at the two girls on either side of him and they giggled.

Kyo suddenly realized what he had done, and glared at the man before him. The God saw this and sighed.

"Oh Kyo, its not bad to accept a drink now and then when you're thirsty. Come, let me unbind you and take you to a room. I've had one especially prepared for you. You just have to agree to play nice."

"Let me go! What did you do with Tohru and the others? What did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything to them, honestly! It doesn't matter anyway, even if I had done something."

"It DOES matter!"

"Oh really?!" The God was getting annoyed, Kyo could hear it in his voice. "COME now Kyo, you can't _honestly _think you would have had any future with that girl! Nearly one hundred percent of children your age have relationships with people of the opposite sex, and nearly one hundred percent of them cut off that relationship. No one in your age ever thinks seriously about life any more. To them, its all just one, big, gigantic party. Filled to the brim with things that destroy their lives. Now with all that against you, can you honestly think you two would ever get married and share a life together?"

It was at this that Kyo couldn't help but grin. There was something that the God - in all his years of existence- had missed.

"I _know_ we could have had a life together."

The man frowned at Kyo's confidence.

"Oh really? And how is that?"

"Yeah, because I've _lived _it."

There was silence for a moment, then the God of the Zodiac burst out laughing.

"You've _lived _it?! How could you have _lived _it?!"

Kyo felt confidence begin to grow. Finally, something was working in his favour.

"There's a woman, her name is Kyoko Honda. She brought me to the future where I was living the most perfect life I could have imagined. I had kids, I had a home, I had a job. But most of all, I had Tohru. That's how I know."

Another silence befell the room, and Kyo waited patiently for the God's reply. Now normally Kyo would have thought that someone would think him crazy for saying something like this, something that was obviously a dream. But since the God of the Zodiac deemed himself so powerful, Kyo knew that he would be able to tell a lie from the truth. Kyo expected anger to come. He expected interrogation. The last thing he expected though, was laughter.

The laughter filled the room, and Kyo began to think that the God was crazy. Tears were running down his face before he managed to take a breath of air and speak.

"Hahaha...oh, Kyo...Kyo Kyo Kyo... you truly think that was real? You truly think that a woman from the dead spoke to you and told you that what you were experiencing was real, and could be all yours for the price of a single, right choice? Kyo you must be more stupid than I ever thought."

The man broke out into another fit of laughter once more, and the two women and all the animals laughed with him.

Kyo was stunned. His eyes were wide and he felt weak.

Not real? It was all...fake? Just a set up. Not real. Kyo wanted to deny him, say that it was real, and that he was wrong. However what the God had said stopped Kyo from doing that. How could he have known what Kyoko had said to him? How could he have known that Kyoko was dead?

"Yo..you're wrong..." Kyo said softly, trying to deny it. "You're wrong! It DID happen! It was all real! It wasn't just a dream!"

The God stopped laughing and looked down at him.

"My dear boy, whoever said that what happened was a dream? Why, indeed it DID happen! Every single bit of it! From the waking up with Tohru for a wife, to visiting your relatives with your children, right to collapsing from lack of medication. Oh I wont ever say it wasn't real, for it most certainly was. However what _isn't _real is who planned it all. Who set it all up for you."

Kyo's entire body was numb, and his heart was in utter defiance of what he was hearing.

_Kyoko set it all up for me. She wanted her daughter and I to live together. Happily. Forever._

"Kyoko set it up. She did. She wanted -."

"My dear Kyo, it wasn't Kyoko Honda who set it up. It was I."

Kyo's head fell, and he remained completely still. No, it wasn't true. Everything that had happened to him happened because of Tohru's mother - Kyoko. She had pulled strings for him and gotten him to experience the most amazing thing in his life, in hopes of giving him and her daughter the perfect life together. She had known that he had been thinking of giving up and accepting his fate, so she had intervened to tell him that fate was what he made it to be. She had done it all, she had. It was her. Not the God of the Zodiac. Not an evil spirit from long ago. It was Kyoko.

Kyo kept repeating this in his head, trying to convince himself that none of this was real, that everything here was a lie.

The God of the Zodiac smiled down at his stunned cat, then waved at the two women beside him. They walked over to the boy and took his arms, the two guards in turn letting go.

The God smiled softly.

"I think the drugs should kick in now."

Then suddenly, Kyo's body went limp, and his eyes closed as he fell into a forced sleep. The two women, surprisingly strong for their slim and fragile looking bodies, lifted him up and carried him out of the room. All the while the God of the Zodiac was smiling widely.

_Now the one that tore the bond of the zodiac apart, will be the one to stitch it all back together. Whether he knows it, or not. _

- - -

"Yuki-kun!"

Tohru raced forward from Hana's side and wrapped her arms around the boy. Yuki flinched, expecting to turn into a rat. However he remained a boy, and for that he was thankful.

"Tohru...where were you? What's going on? The house is a mess, and Uotani-san said that Kyo-."

"Oh Yuki!" Tohru began to sob. "K-Kyo-kun was taken!"

Yuki was taken aback.

"Wh-what? Taken? By who?"

"I-I don't know! B-back in the house, all of you were screaming. I was so s-scared Yuki-kun, but then the windows shattered, and then everything went dark. The next thing I knew, a voice was talking to me. Yuki-kun, I was so scared... but then I woke up in the forest, and Kyo-kun and Hana-chan were there! But then Hana-chan and I suddenly went unconscious, and when we woke up, Kyo-kun was gone. I think it was the same one who took me. Yuki-kun we _HAVE_ to find Kyo-kun! We just have to!"

Tohru's voice had ended in a whisper, and her eyes stared blankly at the ground, filled with tears. Yuki was in shock. He had no clue who this person was that had taken Tohru and Kyo, but he was certain that whoever it was had something to do with the breaking of the curse.

"Come on Tohru, lets go home. I'm sure Shigure and Hatori have woken up by now, and I'm certain they'll have some ideas about what happened."

Tohru nodded, and it was then that she realized Uotani was there.

"Uo-chan!"

Uotani smiled and hugged Tohru.

"I don't know what the hecks going on, but I'm not going home until I find out."

"That goes for myself as well." Added Hana. "There are many strange waves here, and I want to know who's they belong to. I think that whoever's they are belongs to the one who took Tohru-chan and Kyo-san."

Yuki nodded, and the four set off for the house.

- - -

A twig broke, and a rat ran across the forest floor, heading deeper into the darkest part of the woods.

Yuki, having heard the twig break, glanced back, and caught the last glimpse of the fading sunlight as it shone on the rats tail.

- - -

Happy New Year everyone!


	13. Chapter 13

**In The Company Of My Future**

Chapter Thirteen

By: Sakoko-chan

I am so _horridly_ sorry for this gruesomely long update! Please forgive me! I promise, this story if finally nearing its end! Thanks to all who reviewed, and thanks to all who have stuck with me from the beginning. I am sorry I am such a horrible updater, and I promise I will try in the future to be better at it. Once again, I am sorry.

Please review at the end of this chapter! Your reviews tell me that there are still people interested in the story, and that its WORTH updating! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Natsuki Takaya owns it all!

**Warning!** There_ ARE_ spoilers if you haven't read up to Volume 17 of the manga. You have been warned!!

OOC, because of character development of my own doing.

Chapter Thirteen

- - -

The sunlight hit his eyes, and slowly his brain began to turn its gears. He moaned softly, not wanting to have to wake up yet. He was tired, and he didn't want to get up and go to work. He wanted to stay in bed with Tohru and just hold her all day long. He wanted to play with his children, and make them laugh and watch them as they grow.

His body began to shake, and he groaned once more, hoping that Tohru would understand his mumbles and leave him alone. After a moment the shaking became harder, and Kyo tried swatting Tohru away. Why wouldn't she just leave him alone??

"Tohru go 'way...lemme sleep just a while longer..."

He heard a high pitched giggle, and he frowned slightly. That sure didn't sound like Tohru... oh. It must be Sakura then. Realizing that she must want to play, he did what any tired man did - he nudged his wife. But his elbow didn't hit anyone, just sheets and pillows. Finally Kyo cracked open his eyes, and squinted as the rays of sunlight bombarded his eyes in an attempt to blind him. He quickly lifted his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes while moving into a sitting position. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he opened them, expecting to see Sakura in front of him. What he saw however, was very different.

"AHH!!!"

Kyo jumped and suddenly he was wide awake. His limbs automatically moved to the sheets and covered his body. There in front of him stood a young woman wearing a kimono that covered her entire body. She had long black hair that reached down to her waist and bright blue eyes beneath long black lashes. She smiled shyly at Kyo and giggled once more. Looking around quickly Kyo saw that he was sitting in a large bed filled with white sheets and pillows. The room he was in was extravagantly decorated from top to bottom with streamers and colourful decorations. Kyo recognized them as new year decorations. There were windows, but no light shone through. Instead the only light given was by the many lanterns hanging from the roof. Kyo looked back at the girl, hoping that she had disappeared, but was disappointed to see she had not.

"Wh...where am I?" Kyo asked quietly.

The girl smiled.

"My name is Yusa, and you are in the masters house. He hopes that you are enjoying your stay."

And suddenly it all came back. A huge torrent of memories washed over him, and his eyes widened in realization of where he was and who he was with.

"Where is the god?!" He asked loudly, throwing the sheets off of him and stepping onto the floor. "Where am I?! Take me out of here!"

The girl's eyes widened as she was taken aback by Kyo's sudden outburst. She took a step backwards as Kyo advanced towards her, fearful for a moment of what he would do to her. Then suddenly, without any warning, she smiled, stepped forward, and pulled Kyo's face down into a kiss.

Kyo didn't know what to do. He was at a loss for words. Normally he would have pushed the girl back in disgust, and yell at her for doing such a thing. But when she had kissed him, all common sense and reasoning seemed to have left him. Instead he grew silent, and began to relax. He had no clue what the girl was doing to make him feel so at ease, as though everything was right in the world. The only other one to have done that to him had been Tohru...

Tohru.

_Tohru!! Stop this, we have to stop this! This is wrong! What about Tohru?? We can't do this...!_

Kyo's sub-conscience seemed to have sprang from nowhere, and it was now battling with Kyo's thoughts and mind as to what he was doing. It was as though there were suddenly two people in his mind, not just one anymore.

_STOP!!! This has to stop!!_

_/Why? This is...this is.../_

Kyo didn't know what it was. The only thing he could describe it as was...magical. After a moment he realized that he was kissing the girl back. And he liked it.

_She's doing something to you! You have to stop kissing her, you have to THINK! This isn't right-_

Kyo ignored the voice and continued to kiss the mystery girl. Her arms wrapped around his back, and he found his own arms wrapping around hers. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, there came a small voice.

"Daddy?"

Kyo's thoughts lurched, and he was suddenly brought back to reality. His eyes snapped open and he realized what he had been doing. He shoved the girl away, his eyes wide and his breathing heavy.

"You..! You did something to me... you... Sakura!"

Kyo remembered who had spoken his name, and across the room by the door stood his small child, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Daddy I'm scared..."

Kyo immediately ran over to her and took her in his arms, rocking her back and forth as she began to cry.

"Sshh... there, it's okay now. Daddy's here and everything going to be-."

"Not alright. Everything's going to go horribly wrong, and daddy and his little girl will forever be dead, never to see their family or each other ever again."

Kyo held Sakura tighter to himself and looked up, glaring at the man standing before him in the hallway. The god smiled, then suddenly, Sakura vanished. Kyo's arms fell limply to his sides, and he stared at the empty space that his daughter had once occupied. His wide eyes slowly looked back at the god, then narrowed. He rose to his feet and glared at the god of the zodiac standing before him. He wasn't very surprised at Sakura having disappeared before his eyes, not in a place like this. No. In a place like this, he wouldn't even be surprised if the walls around him evaporated into a mist in the blink of an eye.

"My my, such a brooder we are. Don't you have any questions for me? Don't you want to ask me what I want with you? Don't you want to know what I have planned? Come now, interrogate me like you have done so much in the past."

Kyo's glare deepened, and his long held hatred for the being before him flared up within him. He wanted this being to disappear - he wanted him to die. He wanted to finally be rid of the one who had for so long controlled his life in the palm of his hand.

The god waited for a moment longer, then added,

"Don't you want to know what has happened with your little wife Tohru?"

At this, Kyo was forced to speak. He knew he should stay silent, but the sudden remembrance of Tohru and what had happened before he came to this place entered his mind, and before he could stop himself, his mouth was yelling at the god for answers.

"Where is Tohru?! What have you done with her and the others?! ANSWER ME!!"

The god shook his head and smiled.

"Oh, don't worry my cat. I-."

"I am NOT your _cat _any longer!! That curse has been BROKEN!! I am finally free of you, as well as every other _former_ member of the zodiac! We are all free, and from the looks of it, even _Akito_ no longer holds your spirit!"

This angered the god, and Kyo knew it.

The spirit of the zodiac glowered at Kyo, his mouth turned down into a hideous snarl.

"You, _cat, _will learn to hold your tongue. You will learn-."

"NO! I will NOT learn any more! You have been "teaching" me ever since I was born! Your time has ended, the curse is broken, just let it GO!"

"**NO!** I will **NOT** let it go! The curse has **NOT** been broken, you all are still under my control, you will obey me, just as you have for the past **700 years**! **ALL** of you! **ALL **of you foolish, _stupid _animals will **OBEY **me and do as **I **say!!

Kyo took a faltering step backwards in slight fear. The gods outburst had been unexpected, and for a moment Kyo did not know what to say. But after a moment he recollected himself and stood up defiantly.

The god was angered, and he smashed his fist against Kyo's face.

- - -

The time had come. Hana knew it. The powers that she had worked so hard to keep dormant all these years were about to come out once more; and this time, they would succeed in some ones death.

The group had arrived at Yuki and Tohru's house to be met by Hatori and Shigure. Both had awoken and were slowly cleaning up the mess. Both knew that the curse had been broken, and both had put together the pieces to think up a theory as to how it happened. When they met with Yuki and Tohru, and their story was told, they couldn't help but agree that it had indeed been Kyo who had broken the curse.

"And so now Kyo is being held by whomever held you, Tohru." Said Hatori quietly.

"Y-yes. I believe he is. We...we have to save him, we just have to."

Uo patted Tohru on the back.

"We will find orange top Tohru-chan, don't worry. We'll find him."

Tohru let out a sob, and Uo pulled her into a hug.

The group was quiet for a moment, when suddenly Hana stood up.

"I believe I know where Kyo is. I am going to find him."

Everyone looked up at her, and Tohru stood up as well.

"Y-you know where Kyo-kun is? H-how do you...I'll come with you, I'll come with you, we will-."

"Tohru-chan, I believe that only I can do this. My powers alone can find and go to the place where Kyo is being held."

How Hana knew this, she did not know. But she knew that what she spoke was truth.

Tohru fell silent for a moment, then broke out into a sob.

"P-please, please Hana-chan...I-I have to come. I have to. Kyo-kun needs me...he needs me! He always comes for me, but I never come for him...I-I have to d-do this! I HAVE TO! Please...! Please..."

Hana stared at Tohru for a moment in contemplation. Then finally after a few minutes, she nodded.

"Alright. You may come."

Tohru took a sharp intake of breath and stood up.

"Th-thank you-."

"But the rest of you must stay here. I cannot protect all of you."

The other's nodded, realizing that Hana alone had the power to put an end to this. At least, that's what they hoped for.

Hana nodded to Tohru then turned for the door. The two girls walked out of the house, and into the woods. They continued to walk for what seemed like ages, and Tohru quickly became restless. She was just about to ask Hana where she was heading, when the said girl suddenly stopped.

"Here."

Tohru came up beside her.

"H-here? What's here Hana-chan?"

Hana closed her eyes, and held out her hand to Tohru. Tohru tentatively took it, not sure what her friend was doing. A moment passed, then another. Ten minutes passed, and Tohru finally opened her mouth to speak when suddenly the wind picked up, and the world went dark.

- - -

Kyo had been locked in the dark, dank, and small room for days. His watch he found, had broke, and so he had no clue as to how long he had been held. But he knew he had been sleeping, or at the very least, dozing, and had only been woken for food. Even then those times were few and far between. Kyo's stomach was aching for something to fill it, and his throat was screaming for something to quench its thirst.

A while later the small door opened a little ways, and a female hand pushed through a bowl of something unidentifiable, a mush of food - most likely leftovers from many meals long forgotten. A moment later a tray was pushed through as well, though instead of mush inhabiting its plates and bowls, real food was in its place. Fruit lay scattered throughout the tray, and a steaming bowl of soup lay in the middle. After the tray was pushed through, a jug of clean, sparkling water was shoved gently in. The door then closed, and only the light from a small hole at the top of the large door allowed for Kyo to see what he was doing, and which food he was eating.

Kyo sighed and dragged himself over to the separate meals. He stared at the fruit and steaming soup, and nearly cried at the thought of being able to eat and drink from it. His thirst for water and hunger for food had not been as powerful as it was then, as he stared at the tray before him. What pained him more, however, was the knowledge of never being able to eat it.

Kyo took a deep breath, and pushed the tray aside. He took his hand and dipped it in the mush. He took out a handful of the food, and with one last gulp, put it in his mouth. The taste was vile - absolutely disgusting. Kyo nearly gagged, but he forced himself to swallow, knowing that the next time he got food could be days from now. A few torturous minutes later, the food was gone, and Kyo felt sick to his stomach. He knew, however, that this food was much safer than the ones on the tray. The fancy, wonderful smelling food he knew was tainted with the gods magic. He knew that if he ate from any of it, something bad would happen to him. So even though he despised the mush food, he knew that no matter what, it was always the safer route to take.

Kyo sighed and pushed himself back to his corner of the wall that he had been inhabiting since he had been put here by the god. He closed his eyes and tried to force his body to sleep, hoping that whatever amount of time he had left in this place could be spent on sleeping, and not waiting out his days alone. At least in his dreams he had company. At least in his dreams he had Tohru.

Kyo was just about to doze off when suddenly the door opened and slammed against the wall. Kyo jumped, and he was jolted awake. There in front of him stood no other than the god of the zodiac. Kyo stood up shakily, weak from days without proper food or water. He looked at the god, trying to see whether or not he was in a good mood or not. He wasn't.

"So, I see we haven't been eating our proper amount of food and water, have we?!"

Kyo remained silent, not wanting to infuriate the god further.

The god glowered at Kyo, then without warning he kicked the tray of food and the jug of water, sending everything clattering and spilling across the cement floor.

"You WILL succumb to my will _cat, _just **wait**. You're going to need real food sooner or later. You cannot survive on this mesh alone. You're going to need _nourishment. _You're going to need _water."_

Kyo glared back at the spirit.

"I won't _ever _drink or eat any of that food you give me. I haven't yet, and I never will."

To Kyo's slight surprise, the god chuckled.

"Yes. I assumed you'd say that. All the rest did too."

This perked Kyo's interest. Others?

"Others?" He said, echoing his thoughts.

"Yes, others. Do you think you're the only one to have tried to break the curse before?"

When Kyo remained silent, the god continued.

"No... throughout the years there have been numerous slaves who have attempted to break the curse. Only a few have ever needed to be taken here, with me. And for some reason, all of them were _cats._" The god spat the word as though it were something vile on his tongue.

Kyo was shocked. He had never heard before of a member of the zodiac having broken the curse before. The god seemed to have realized what Kyo was thinking, and he was quick to correct him.

"Don't dwell too much on it, _cat. _None have ever succeeded. And believe me, neither will you. I have stopped all of them before, and you are no different. No cat has ever defeated me. You will die, and the spirit of the cat will enter into the body of another foolish mortal. As will every other spirit of the zodiac. They will all enter new bodies, and another generation of the zodiac will begin. Sadly, unlike the rest of those foolish mortals you call your family, you will not live long enough to see any of that. For soon, you will die."

The god laughed, and his laughter was like nails on a chalk board to Kyo's ears. He cringed, and covered his ears with his hand. This only made the god laugh louder.

Then suddenly, the laughter stopped.

Kyo looked up, and saw the god still standing in the doorway. However he was now turned around, and Kyo could only see his back. However what he heard next told him exactly who had the god's rapt attention.

"Hello. My name is Saki Hanajima. I am a psychic from Earth. And today sir, you will die."

- - -

End Chapter 13

- - -

Hana says she's a psychic from earth because she still does not know exactly who the god of the zodiac is, and to her she might as well be on a different planet. She does however, know that Kyo is behind him in the room.

The next chapter should be the last. There will probably be an epilogue.

Again, thanks to all who reviewed!! It was greatly appreciated!

Please review every one, though I ask for no flames. I find flames only make a person feel worse about themselves, and do nothing to help improve their writing skills. Thank you!

**Your reviews let me know that you still want to read more!**

Thank you once more for reading this story, and for sticking with me for so long! Valentines cookies full of sweets and icing for all!!

-Sakoko-chan


	14. Chapter 14

**In The Company of My Future**

Chapter Fourteen

By Fantasy's Magic

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

**Warnings:** There are spoilers if you haven't read up to volume 17 of the manga.

There is OOC due to character development of my own doing.

Chapter Fourteen

Kyo couldn't believe what he was hearing. No, scratch that, he couldn't believe what he was _seeing! _

"H-Hanajima-."

Saki looked down at Kyo and nodded her head in a greeting.

"Hello Kyo-san. It is nice to see you alive."

"S-same to you..."

"And what, may I ask, are _**you **_doing here?"

Everyone's attention turned back to the god of the zodiac, who was looking down at Hana as though she were a very unexpected bug he had had the misfortune to step on. Hana met his gaze with confidence.

"My name is Saki Hanajima, and I am a psychic from the planet-."

"Excuse me." Interrupted the god. "But I believe you misheard me. I don't care who you are, I want to know what you are _**doing **_here, in _**my **_domain."

"Your domain? I would hardly believe that something as pitiful as this could be your dwelling place."

"This place was not created for entertainment - it was created for torture."

Saki raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really?"

The god glared at her, then looked at Kyo. Kyo's senses immediately went on high alert as he realized he was once more the centre of attention.

"This place was created for the sole purpose of killing those who stand in my way." The spirit sharpened his gaze at Kyo as he said, "It was created to put those who think they can control their own destiny back in their places."

Kyo returned the glare with equal force, and it was then that a soft voice made itself known.

"Kyo-kun..."

Kyo's heart stopped and he looked up past Hana and the god to see a small form by the doorway.

"Tohru..."

Suddenly he felt no longer weak. Suddenly energy was coursing through his body, giving him the strength to stand and run over to the girl.

"Tohru!"

Kyo ran to her and picked her up, wrapping his arms around her body, never wanting to let go.

"Tohru you're here, you're here! How did you-."

And suddenly Kyo was struck with realization. He set Tohru down but held on to her hands.

"Tohru...how did you get here? How did Hana-."

"Hana-chan and I came to save you..." Tohru said quietly, staring into Kyo's face with unwavering eyes.

Kyo blinked, his eyes wide.

"Hana-."

_**BOOM!**_

Kyo was thrown forward, and he instinctively grabbed Tohru and protected her body with his own from whatever was assailing them. After they regained their footing, Kyo and Tohru turned around to see Hana looking down at the god of the zodiac, who was currently on one knee in front of her, his head down. After a moment of complete silence, he looked up.

Hana was suddenly thrown back against the wall, and she gasped loudly for the breath that had been knocked out of her. The god stood up and walked slowly over to her, his eyebrows knitted together and his mouth down turned in anger.

"You are quick, I will give you that."

Hana continued to gasp for breath as the spirit advanced.

"But you are weak. You aimed to hurt me, not kill me as you should have. But then, what do you know about anything? It's not like you know the reason you are here - the reason you are being forced to save the _cat."_

It hit Kyo right then and there. He knew what the god was doing - he'd dealt with the god all his life, and he knew how he worked. His sudden change in topic was meant to throw Hana off - to get her to think of why she was having to save himself; to think of the reason she was here.

The god continued,

"Do you know why I refer to your little friend as the _cat? _Do you?"

Hana took a couple of deep breaths, and steadied herself against the wall. She looked into the gods eyes unwaveringly, but Kyo could see the doubt in her eyes.

When Hana didn't do or say anything, the god took it as his cue to continue.

"Haven't you ever wondered why Tohru was so accepted by nearly the entire Sohma family? Why she alone had gained their favour, when so many other children who had tried before had failed? Haven't you wondered why the Sohma's have always been so secretive all their lives? Haven't you wondered, when you see Tohru upset or hurt, what it was that hurt her? Well? Haven't you?"

It was then that Hana faltered - she glanced to her right, where Kyo and Tohru were standing. The god smiled.

"Yes...they are an odd family, aren't they? Such odd people... you could say they sometimes even behave like animals."

Kyo felt Tohru's grip tighten on his hand, but he continued to look straight at Hana, _willing _her to ignore the gods bait and focus on killing him. Sadly, the young woman remained silent, her eyes repeatedly looking back and forth between Kyo and the god.

"Why don't you ask Kyo yourself? He's the real reason you're here, is he not?"

"Hana-chan! Please! Don't listen-."

"SILENCE!"

Tohru snapped her mouth shut and seemed to shrink into herself. Kyo wrapped an arm around her shoulder, trying to decide what he should do. He watched as Hana looked at Tohru in concern.

The god turned his attention back to Hana.

"Well since you're dying to know, I'll let you in on our little secret. You see, the Sohma family for centuries have had a curse on them. Whenever twelve special Sohma individuals come into physical contact with someone of the opposite sex, such as hugging, they are suddenly turned into an animal. You're little friend here, for example, turns into a cat. See?"

At that moment Kyo felt an old, but very familiar sensation take over him. In a matter of seconds his world enlarged, and he had the sudden urge for white milk. He could hear Hana's sharp intake of breath, and Tohru's small anguished cry as he landed at her feet. He quickly felt himself lifted up and into the arms of Tohru.

The god of the zodiac grinned and turned to face Hana. However he never got the chance, as he was suddenly thrown backwards and onto his back on the cold, stone floor.

Hana's once confused face now held no emotion as she walked up to the god. She looked down at him and focussed all her energy on one purpose - death.

"It is plain to see that you have caused much grief among the Sohma family, and most of all, to my Tohru-chan."

A poof was heard, and Tohru instinctively closed her eyes as Kyo dressed.

The god didn't know what was happening - his energy was fading, and he felt weaker then he had ever had before in his entire existence.

"I will not tolerate this - I cannot. I do not know how Kyo-san turned into a cat, or if what you say about the Sohma's is even true. What I do know though, is that I hate you. I hate you so much...!" Hana's voice cracked as she spoke the last sentence, allowing her emotion to escape for just a moment.

The god felt a stab of pain - something he was very unaccustomed to. He felt another stab once more, this time in the very centre of his chest.

But he wasn't ready to admit defeat yet.

Using all the energy he had, the god managed to stand once more on his own two feet. He looked down at Hana, a snarl on his lips.

"I could have spared your life, but now child, you will die along with your little friend and the worthless _cat!"_

At that, the god directed all his attention on Hana. The force that had held the Sohma's will so close to his own for the past hundreds of years was now trying to bend Hana's will, something never before done. The spirit paid no heed to this fact though, and he tried with all he had to force the young woman to obey him.

Kyo knew what he was doing, and he knew that when push came to shove, Hana could not possibly win. He himself had tried so hard to resist the gods will in the past, but he had never achieved it. He had always ended up obeying him in the end. He had always ended up the loser.

But he was forgetting one thing. And it was that one thing that Tohru remembered.

"Hana-chan, don't give up! You can destroy him!"

Kyo turned to Tohru, his eyes filled with hopelessness.

"It's no use Tohru, Hana can't win. I've tried, everyone's tried, but we've never been able to-."

"Kyo-kun! How can you say that?!"

Tohru looked at the young man with a determination Kyo had only seen a little of before. And as always, it took him by surprise.

"But Tohru, you know-."

"I know that Hana can do it Kyo-kun, because you did it."

Hana did not turn her attention from the god of the zodiac, but she could hear Kyo and Tohru's conversation. For a moment she felt all hope fade from her heart, and it was at that moment that she began to feel her determination dwindle. A small voice then arose in the back of her mind.

_Just give up. It's not worth it - they're not worth it. I can't defeat him - I don't even know who he is. I can't do it. I'm not strong enough. _

Hana ignored the voice and held out her hand towards the spirit, hoping this action would direct more of her energy to him. As she did so, a wind out of nowhere erupted in full force, and suddenly her hair was being tossed and turned all around her. She spread her legs slightly apart to steady herself. She knew what this wind was - it was the wind of death. Someone was going to die very soon, and for a moment, she did not know who it would be.

_Death's come knocking early, it seems. It is strong - it would be best to just submit to it now, and get it over with. _

Hana's hand faltered, and for a moment her eyes closed shut. The god smiled.

_It's not like there's anything worth living for here. Mother, father, my family, Tohru, not one of them is worth continuing this fight._

And Hana's eyes shot open like a bullet from a gun. The voice in her head was not her own! There was no way she would think of Tohru or her family that way, no way. She loved her family, and she loved Tohru, and Uotani. It was them that gave her strength to go on each day, knowing she was almost a killer. No, she _was _a killer. She had wanted that young boy to die, and he nearly did. From that day on she had vowed never to use her powers to kill, but today she would break that vow. Today was going to kill, and this time she was not going to fail.

"You are wrong."

The wind continued as the gods smile slowly fell from his face. Hana's arms rose higher, and the wind grew fiercer.

"My family and my friends are not just a reason to keep living, they are _the _reason I keep living. I live for them, and nothing will ever change that. They give me strength each day to go through my life, and today they will give me the strength to end yours."

The wind picked up, and Kyo and Tohru covered their ears as the sound became deafening. Hana remained standing, her eyes boring a hole into the god of the zodiac. The god felt pain once more, and suddenly he was screaming along with the wind of death. He screamed as he felt his body be torn apart. But he wasn't done. He knew he was going to die, but if there was one thing left that he could do, it was this. Tearing his eyes open, he looked at Kyo and said,

"IF I HAVE TO DIE, THEN YOU WILL TOO, _CAT!!" _

Suddenly the wind that had been surrounding only Hana and the god, jumped and began assailing Kyo. Kyo yelled as pain erupted across his entire body. He couldn't hear a thing but his own screams, and that terrified him. But what terrified him more was the thought that Tohru was being hurt as well. It was this thought that forced him to fight back. So with all his might, with all his energy, with all his _**will**_Kyo fought back against the god. He wasn't going to die today. He wasn't going to submit to the god. He wasn't going to lose.

The wind continued, but instead of increasing around Kyo, it instead died down, and began to pick up once more around the god. The god, unaware of what had just happened, screamed. The wind, for one final time, surged around the god, tearing at his face and body. In a few minutes the spirit began to disintegrate, his entire being slowly disappearing, slowly dying.

And finally at last, with all the strength of all that were in the room, the last of the god of the zodiac was swept away on the wind of death, and he was no more.

Silence encompassed the room. All three teenagers stared at the space where the god had once been, stunned. Kyo rose shakily to his feet, and he had to hold on to the wall to steady himself. No one said anything, until a moment later when Tohru, still in a daze, walked over to Hana, who was standing still, looking straight into the spot where the god had once been.

"Hana..."

Tohru's voice snapped Hana out of her benumbed state, and she turned to her friend, her eyes filling with tears.

"Tohru-chan..."

"Oh Hana!"

They both fell into each other's arms, Tohru trying her best to console her friend, and at the same time trying to control herself.

Kyo stared at the two, still in a daze himself.

_It's over _he thought bewilderedly. _It's finally finished. I can't feel his presence any more. He's really dead. _

Kyo took a step forward, but as he did, everything around him and the girls vanished, and was replaced by trees and an orange sky.

They were back.

The girls seemed to notice this change, as they both raised their heads to look around. They both pulled away, and while Hana had finally regained her emotions and was not looking content, Tohru was still in a terrified state. She did her best not to show it, but when she looked back and saw Kyo, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Oh Kyo-kun!"

Kyo stared at Tohru, his future wife, and took a few stumbling steps forward. Tohru turned and ran to him as well, and they met each other halfway.

Kyo stared down at Tohru, not sure what to say. But nothing was needed to be said, all that was needed was one thing, and Kyo did just that. Wrapping his arms around Tohru, Kyo lifted her up and buried his face in her shoulder and whispered,

"I love you Tohru..."

Tohru closed her eyes shut in an attempt to block out the tears, but it didn't work. She wrapped her arms around Kyo and said,

"I love you too, Kyo-kun..."

**Epilogue **

It had been soon after graduation that Kyo had proposed to Tohru, and it had been mere seconds after Tohru said yes. A few months later found Yuki having proposed to a girl himself - Machi.

Two years later found Tohru and Kyo and the entire Sohma family in the hospital, smiles on every single one of their faces.

"Congratulations Tohru-chan!! Congratulations Kyo-kun!!" Were all that could be heard from everyone's mouth.

Kyo and Tohru didn't mind though, as it was indeed a day to be celebrated.

"So what are you going to call her?" Asked Momiji as he peered over Tohru's bed and at Kyo who was sitting on a chair beside her.

Kyo looked at Tohru, and Tohru looked at Kyo. They both smiled and turned back to Momiji.

"I think we're going to call her Sakura." Said Tohru, the joy clearly heard in her voice.

Everyone around them said how nice the name was, and how it suited the young baby just perfectly.

Kyo smiled himself as he looked down at his firstborn baby. His little girl. His.

Kyo had never forgotten that day two years ago when he woke up to find himself in bed with the girl that he loved, and with two young children in their house. Sometimes he would try to convince himself that it had all been just one, big enlightening dream, but whenever he looked at Tohru he knew that wasn't true. His experience with the future had really happened - and it was all thanks to Kyoko, a woman he had met when he was just a child. A woman who had changed his life when she was alive, and had changed his life when she was gone. A woman who was now his mother in-law. If it hadn't been for her intervention, he would have never fought back against the god, and the curse would never have been broken.

"Hey, Tohru! Carrot top! Congratulations!!"

The door had opened and Uotani had walked in, Hana following closely behind.

Greetings ensued, and finally after what seemed like forever everyone managed to quiet down enough for Kyo and Tohru to speak.

"Hana-chan..." Said Tohru quietly.

Hana walked over to the bed and smiled.

"Yes Tohru-chan?"

Tohru looked back at Kyo, and Kyo nodded his head. Tohru turned back to Hana and asked,

"Hana...Kyo and I would like to ask you...would you be Sakura-chan's godmother?"

Hana stared at Tohru, her eyes wide in shock. There was a moment of silence, and then Hana nodded her head.

"Yes...yes of course! Thank you...thank you both!"

A few hours later everyone finally left, leaving only Kyo, Tohru and Sakura in the hospital room. They both relished in the quietness, happy to just look at each other and their new child.

Kyo suddenly looked up, struck with an idea.

"Hey Tohru,"

Tohru looked up from Sakura who was in her arms and said,

"Yes?"

"What do you think about me growing a beard?"

**End of In The Company of My Future**

Thank you to all who have stuck with me since day one, which was a long time ago. Thanks to all who have reviewed, you guys have no idea how much it means to be told you are a good writer, and that your story is enjoyed.

I hope this was a satisfactory ending for you all, and I apologize if it is not. If there is grammar error's, I apologize for that too - I guess that's why professional writers have editors (and un-professional writers have beta readers. Sadly, I do not exploit them as I should...).

Please review, and please, no flames if the story did not end how you wanted.

Thanks again to everyone, I love you ALL! (Throws out cookies).

Fantasy's Magic - _out! _


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